
1YLJ\^ 



OF 

GARDENING 




REXFORD 




(lass Op^S^ 

Book _ 

fmryiighf N° 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



HARPER'S A-B-C SERIES 

A-B-C OF HOUSEKEEPING. 

By Christine Terhune Herrick 

A-B-C OF ELECTRICITY. 

By William M. Meadowcropt 

A-B-C OF GARDENING. By Eben E. Rexford 
A-B-C OF MANNERS. By Anne Seymour 
16mo, Cloth 



HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK 




A-B-C 



OF 

GARDENING 




BY 

EBEN ErREXFORD 



HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 
NEW YORK & LONDON 






COPYRIGHT. 1915., BY HARPER & BROTHERS 

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

PUBLISHED MARCH, 1915 

C-P 

MAR 13 1915 



'CI.A393982 



CONTENTS 



CHAP. PAGE 

I. Making the Garden 1 

II. Making a Lawn 5 

III. The Border 8 

IV. Annuals 12 

V. Vines 15 

VI. Spring Work in the Garden .... 21 

VII. Midsummer in the Garden 26 

VIII. Window-boxes 30 

IX. The Use op Growing Plants for Table 

Decoration 33 

X. Decorative Plants 39 

XI. The Bulb-bed 44 

XII. Getting Ready for Winter 48 

XIII. Bulbs for Winter Flowering .... 54 

XIV. The Winter Window-garden .... 61 

XV. The Insect Enemies of Plants .... 67 

XVI. Gardening for Children 72 

XVH. Home and Garden Conveniences ... 75 

XViII. Garden Don'ts 81 

XIX. A Chapter of Helpful Hints .... 99 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 



ABC OF GARDENING 



MAKING THE GARDEN 

THE first thing to do in making a garden 
is to spade up the soil to the depth of a 
foot. 

The second thing to do is to work this 
spaded-up soil over and over until it is 
thoroughly pulverized. 

The third thing to do is to add to it what- 
ever fertilizer you decide on using. This may 
be old, well-rotted manure from the cow-yard, 
if you can get it, for it is the ideal fertilizer 
for nearly all lands of plants. But if you 
live in city or village the probabilities are that 
you will be obliged to make use of a sub- 
stitute. Bone meal — the finely ground arti- 
cle — is about as good as anything I know of 

for amateur use. The amount to use will 

l 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

depend on the condition of the soil to which 
you apply it. If of simply ordinary richness, 
I would advise a teacupful of the meal to a 
yard square of ground. If the soil happens 
to be poor, a large quantity should be used. 
It is not possible to say just how much or how 
little, because no two soils are exactly alike. 
One can decide about this when he sees the 
effect of what has been used on the plants 
whose cultivation he has undertaken. I 
speak of using it by measure rather than by 
weight because the gardener will find it easier 
to use a cup than a set of scales. 

When the soil has been thoroughly pul- 
verized and the fertilizer has been well worked 
into it you are ready for sowing seed — that 
is, if the weather conditions are favorable. 
It is always advisable to wait until all danger 
from frost is over and the ground is warm 
enough to facilitate prompt germination. 
At the North the seed of our hardier 
plants can safely be put into the ground 
about the middle of May, but the tenderer 
kinds can well afford to wait until the first of 
June. 

In sowing seed don't follow the old way of 

making a furrow an inch deep in the soil, 

by drawing the hoe-handle along it, and then 

covering the seed deeply. Fine seed often 
2 



MAKING THE GARDEN 

fail to germinate when given this treatment. 
Simply scatter the seed on the surface, and 
then sift a little fine soil over it, or press the 
ground down firmly with a smooth board, 
thus imbedding the seed in the ground to a 
depth that is sufficient to insure enough 
moisture to facilitate the process of germi- 
nation. 

Large seed, like that of the sweet-pea, 
nasturtium, mirabilis, and morning-glory can 
be covered with half an inch of soil. 

Weeding should begin as soon as you can 
tell the weeds and the flowering plants apart. 
It is absolutely necessary to keep the beds 
clean if you would have good flowers. Allow 
weeds to remain, and in an incredibly short 
time they will get such a start of the other 
plants in the bed that these will have received 
a check from which it will take them a long 
time to recover, when given an opportunity to 
do so by the removal of the enemy. There 
can be no compromise between weeds and 
flowering plants. One must give way to the 
other, and weeds will have it all their own 
way if given the ghost of a chance. 

Every gardener should be the owner of a 

wheelbarrow, a hoe, a spade, an iron rake, a 

watering-pot, and a weeding-hook. The 

last, which will cost ten or fifteen cents, will 
3 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

enable you to destroy as many weeds in half 
an hour as you could pull in half a day by 
hand, and it will leave the soil in as light and 
porous a condition as would result from 
going over it with rake or hoe. 



II 

MAKING A LAWN 

MOST home-makers labor under the 
impression that it would be useless for 
them to undertake the making of a lawn, 
thinking it requires the knowledge and ex- 
perience of the professional gardener to make 
such an undertaking successful. This is 
where they make a mistake. Anybody can 
make a lawn that will afford a great deal of 
pleasure if he sets about it, provided he is 
willing to do some hard work. 

The first thing to do is to make the surface 
of the ground level. This can be done by the 
use of spade and hoe. Take off the tops of 
the hillocks, if there happens to be any, and 
fill the hollows with the soil thus obtained. 

When you have a fairly even surface, go 

over it with an iron-toothed rake and make 

it fine and mellow. It is very important that 

all stones and rubbish of every kind should be 

removed if you want a good sward. 

After reducing the soil to the necessary 
5 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

degree of fineness, add whatever fertilizer to it 
you propose to make use of, and then go over 
the ground again with the rake and work this 
fertilizer in thoroughly. It is necessary to 
have it evenly distributed. If it is not, there 
will be patches where the grass will be thick 
and luxuriant, and others where it will be 
scanty and poor. Such a result should be 
guarded against by working the fertilizer into 
the soil so evenly that no part of it will be 
without its proper share. 

Then you are ready for sowing the seed. 

The seed to sow is the very best kind in 
the market. This will cost you a little more 
than the inferior kind that is offered each 
season, but it is worth a good deal more, 
and it is what you must have if you would 
make your lawn a thing of beauty. Procure 
it from some reliable dealer who makes a 
specialty of " lawn-grass mixtures." 

If you tell the dealer the size of your lawn 

and ask how much seed you will need, he will 

give you what he considers a fair estimate. 

I would advise you to double the amount, 

for this reason: a thickly seeded lawn will 

have the appearance, by the middle of the 

first season, of a lawn a year or two old. And 

because of the thickness of the grass it will be 

better able to stand the effect of drought and 
6 



MAKING A LAWN 

heat. You will find that the extra money 
invested in seed was a wise investment, and 
you will never have cause to regret making it. 
Sowing seems, to the amateur gardener, a 
matter of so little importance that it requires 
no special attention. All there is to do is to 
scatter the seed over the ground. But nine 
out of ten amateurs who do the work with 
this idea in mind will speedily discover their 
mistake. When the grass comes up thickly 
here and there, with vacant places between, 
they will come to the conclusion that sowing 
grass seed evenly isn't the easiest thing in the 
world, for the seed is so light that the slightest 
puff of air will blow it away, and some will 
settle where you want it to, and some will 
lodge where other seed has already lodged, 
and the result will be very unsatisfactory. 
In order to prevent such a condition of things 
as far as possible, I would advise sowing from 
north to south, and then from east to west. 
Do this on a still, damp day, if possible, and 
hold your hand close to the ground as you 
scatter the seed. Don't attempt to broad- 
cast it, as you may have seen some gardener 
do, but be content to scatter it over a small 
portion of soil each time you sow a handful 
of it. By doing this you will prevent most 
of it from being blown away. 



in 

THE BORDER 

"PHE owner of a small lot is often puzzled 
* to know what to do with it. Of course 
there must be flowers, but where shall they 
be put? As a general thing, they are set out 
here and there, indiscriminately, and the re- 
sult of such haphazard planting is far from 
pleasing. There ought always to be at least 
a suggestion of system in all garden arrange- 
ments. To scatter shrubs all over the lawn 
breaks up the sense of breadth and dignity 
which should characterize it, however small 
it may be. This being the case, the best 
place for shrubs and perennials is at the sides 
of the lot, leaving the rear for the vegetable 
garden. 

A border extending along the sides of the 
lot will serve as a frame for the home pic- 
ture, and will be found the most satisfactory 
arrangement possible for small places. It 



THE BORDER 

ought to be at least four feet wide — six or 
eight will be found much better if ground can 
be spared for it — and a pleasing effect can be 
secured by letting it increase in width as it 
approaches the rear of the lot. It will be 
far more attractive if its inner edge curves a 
little here and there than if it is confined to 
straight lines. 

I would advise a " mixed border." By 
that is meant one in which shrubs and 
perennials are grown together and where 
annuals and spring-flowering bulbs can be 
used effectively to "fill in." 

The soil for such a border must be made 
and kept quite rich, for almost always we put 
so many plants into it that great demands 
are made upon the nutriment contained in it, 
and in order to have fine plants they must get 
all the food they can make good use of. 
You can't grow plants to perfection unless 
you feed them well. Every season — prefer- 
ably in spring — manure should be applied 
liberally. 

In setting out shrubs one should take a 

look ahead and endeavor to see, with the 

mind's eye, what they will be likely to be 

when fully developed. If this is not done 

we are pretty sure to plant them so close 

that by and by we have a thicket of them, 
9 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

in which none of them can properly display 
their charms. 

Between the shrubs plant perennials and 
such summer-flowering plants as dahlias and 
gladioli. 

Plant the taller perennials at the rear, and 
those of medium height in the center, of the 
the row, with low-growing kinds in front. 
By doing this we secure a sort of banklike 
effect which will be very pleasing. In order 
to plant intelligently, study the catalogues 
of the florists, for most of them give the 
height of each plant listed in them. 

If I were asked to name the best shrubs 
for amateur use, I would choose these: spiraea 
(especially the Van Houttei variety) , weigelia 
deutzia, lilacs in variety, flowering currant, 
and golden elder — the last a shrub with rich 
yellow foliage, capable of producing a most 
delightful effect when planted among richly 
colored flowering plants like the hollyhock 
and delphinium. From the perennial list. I 
would select peonies, phlox, delphinium, iris, 
and hollyhocks. 

My selection would include the kinds 

named above because of their hardiness and 

ease of culture as well as their beauty. 

There are many other kinds which richly 

deserve a place in all gardens that are large 
10 



THE BORDER 

enough to allow of free selection, but the 
owner of the average home lot will be obliged 
to draw a line somewhere, and he will be safe 
in confining his choice to the kinds I have 
mentioned. They are among the very best 
plants we have in their respective classes. 



IV 

ANNUALS 

THE owner of a garden that is so small 
that but few plants can be grown in it 
naturally desires to confine her selection to 
such kinds as will be likely to give the great- 
est amount of bloom and require the least 
amount of care. 

At the head of the list it is quite safe to 
place the sweet-pea. This old and universal 
favorite blooms profusely and throughout the 
entire season if prevented from ripening 
seed. It is beautiful, wonderfully varied as 
to coloring, and so fragrant that it is almost 
a rival of the rose in this respect. It requires 
a treatment so unlike that of ordinary plants 
that it is really in a class by itself, if one 
would secure the best results from it. It 
likes to get a start early in the season and to 
have its roots deep in the soil, where they 
will be cool and moist when the hot, dry, 
midsummer season comes. To gratify this 

desire on the part of the plant we sow its 
*2 



ANNUALS 

seed in trenches four or five inches deep, 
about the middle of April, at the North, or as 
soon as the ground is free from frost. These 
trenches are V-shaped, and can easily be 
made by drawing the corner of a hoe through 
the soil. Sow the seed quite thickly, and 
cover with an inch of soil, trampling it down 
firmly. When the young plants are about 
three inches tall draw in about them some of 
the soil thrown out from the trench, and 
continue to do this from time to time as the 
plants reach up, until the trench is full. In 
this way we succeed in getting the roots of 
the plant deep enough to prevent them from 
drying out if the season happens to be one of 
drought. The best support for the sweet-pea 
is brush. The next best is woven-wire net- 
ting with a large mesh. 

Another plant that the amateur gardener 
cannot afford to overlook is the nasturtium. 
It is a most profuse and constant bloomer. 
Its colors run through all shades of yellow, 
orange, and red. It has a delicious spicy fra- 
grance quite unlike that of any other flower 
I have any knowledge of. Fine for cutting. 

The aster must also be given a place in all 
gardens, large or small, because of its beauty, 
its wide range of color, and its ease of cul- 
ture. There are several quite distinct vari- 
13 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

eties, all good, but none better than the long- 
stalked " branching" kind. This is the ideal 
sort for cutting. Its flowers rival those of 
the chrysanthemum in general effect and 
lasting quality. 

Phlox Drummondii is an old favorite that 
holds its own against any of the new-comers. 
So is the verbena, and the calliopsis, and the 
good old " bachelor's-button," which you will 
find masquerading in the florists' catalogues 
as centaurea. It must not be blamed for 
this, as it has no reason to be ashamed of its 
old-fashioned name. The seedsmen alone are 
responsible for the change in nomenclature. 

Other standbys among the annuals are 
poppies, larkspur, petunias, ten-week stock, 
marigolds, scabiosa, mignonette, eschscholtzia 
(better known as California poppy). 

Of course the list of really desirable kinds 

could be extended almost indefinitely, but I 

do not think it advisable to make mention of 

other kinds here, because it is not the part of 

wisdom for the amateur gardener to attempt 

growing " a little of everything." It is better 

to confine one's attention to a few of the kinds 

with which success is reasonably sure until 

experience justifies one in undertaking the 

culture of those which are not so self-reliant 

and unexacting as the kinds mentioned. 
14 



VINES 

IF any one were to ask me to tell him 
what vine I considered best adapted to 
amateur culture in all respects, I would decide 
in favor of the ampelopsis — better known in 
many localities as Virginia creeper. My de- 
cision would be based on the beauty of the 
vine, its rapid growth, its hardiness, and its 
ability to furnish its own support on walls of 
wood, brick, or stone. Its foliage is very 
pleasing in summer, but it is doubly so in 
autumn, when its green gives place to a brill- 
iant crimson and a rich maroon. At that 
season of the year all our flowering vines 
are eclipsed by its magnificent coloring. It 
grows well in all kinds of soil — better, of 
course, in a good one than a poor one — and it 
will go to the eaves of a three-story house if 
given an opportunity to do so, and cover 
every inch of the wall unless special efforts 

are made to prevent it from doing this. If 
15 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

you do not want your windows hidden under 
its luxuriance it will be necessary for you to 
cut away a good many of its branches during 
the summer. 

The Dorothy Perkins rose — one of the 
rambler class — is a most charming vine when 
in full bloom, and it has the merit of being 
quite attractive at other periods, as its foliage 
is a rich, dark, shining green — something that 
cannot truthfully be said of some of the other 
members of this class of roses. It is the only 
rambler I would advise for use about porches 
and verandas. It blooms in wonderful pro- 
fusion. Its flowers are a soft pink, borne in 
large, loose clusters or sprays. The general 
habit of the plant is all that could be desired. 
It is the only member of the rambler class 
that is really vinelike. 

There are two varieties of clematis that I 
am always glad to speak a good word for. 
One is the native variety, catalogued as 
C. flammula. This is a very rampant grower, 
and well adapted for use wherever a dense 
shade is desired. It blooms in August. Its 
flowers are white. They are succeeded by 
seed with a feathery tail which makes the 
plant look as if covered with gray smoke. 
This variety is always greatly admired be- 
cause of this peculiarity. The other variety 
16 



VINES 

that I have a special fondness for is C. panicu- 
lata. This is a late bloomer, being in the 
prime of its flowering period long after the 
plants in the garden have completed the work 
of the season. Its flowers are of the purest 
white. They are small, individually, but they 
are borne in such profusion that the upper 
portion of the vine will be completely cov- 
ered with them. It will look as if a fall of 
snow had tried to hide it. I consider this one 
of our very best flowering vines. Unlike the 
hybrid members of the clematis family, with 
their enormous flowers of rich colors and 
scanty foliage, it is perfectly healthy, and it 
has ample foliage to make a charming back- 
ground for its blossoms. 

The trumpet honeysuckle is a favorite 
wherever grown. It is one of our best vines 
for porch use, as it does not climb to a great 
height. It bears its scarlet-and-orange flow- 
ers throughout the entire season. It is an 
especial favorite because its foliage is always 
clean and seldom attacked by insects. 

The good old morning-glory is, all things 

considered, our best annual flowering vine. 

It grows rapidly, reaching to the windows of 

the second story by midsummer. It is a free 

and constant bloomer. It is excelled by no 

other vine in richness and variety of color — 
17 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

white, pink, purple, blue, violet, and crimson 
flowers will make a veritable " morning glory " 
of it. Care should be taken to provide it 
with stout cord to climb by. A light twine 
is not strong enough to support the weight 
of its heavy vines. 

Another good flowering vine is the hyacinth 
bean. Why it should be given this name I 
do not know, as there is nothing about it 
suggestive in the remotest degree of the 
hyacinth. Its flowers are a brilliant scarlet. 
It seldom grows to a greater height than seven 
or eight feet, and is therefore well adapted to 
use about porches where a rampant grower is 
not wanted. 

The wild cucumber, catalogued as echy- 
nocystis, is a good vine for covering tall build- 
ings and screens. It will make a growth of 
twenty-five or thirty feet in a season. Its 
foliage is pretty, as are its white flowers, 
which make the vines look as if covered with 
foam. These give place to prickly fruit, 
somewhat resembling some varieties of cu- 
cumber, hence its popular name. 

The wild grape that is found growing along 
creeks and rivers in almost all parts of the 
country is a most excellent vine for covering 
summer-houses and for planting where it can 
have trees to clamber over. Its flowers are 
18 



VINES 

so small and so pale in color as to be scarcely 
distinguishable, but they are so delightfully 
fragrant that every one knows when the vine 
is in bloom without looking at it. Its fra- 
grance has much of the pervading quality 
that characterizes mignonette, and is quite 
unlike that of any other plants I can call to 
mind. It seems to have the very spirit of the 
spring in it — vague, elusive, and sweet beyond 
description. 

I would not class the crimson-rambler rose 
among the vines, though the majority of our 
florists have done so. I treat it as a shrub, 
and find it most satisfactory when grown in 
that manner. I allow the young canes to 
reach a length of seven or eight feet. Then 
I nip off the tops of them. This causes side 
branches to develop. A central support is 
provided for these branches. In this way I 
succeed in getting flowers all over the plant 
— in other words, of making it a shrub in- 
stead of a vine. If it is used to cover 
summer-houses, the canes can be allowed 
to grow to suit themselves. 

Celastrus scandens, more commonly known 
as bittersweet, is a native vine that can 
easily be domesticated. It is well worth a 
place about every home. Its foliage is bright 
and clean, its flowers inconspicuous, but its 

19 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

fruit makes the vine a favorite wherever 
grown. This is a bright crimson, each berry 
being inclosed in an orange shell which splits 
apart in three pieces, revealing the fruit in- 
side. As this fruit remains on the plant until 
late in the season, it makes the vine quite as 
attractive as if it were covered with flowers 
at a time of the year when bits of brightness 
are greatly appreciated in the garden. 



VI 

SPRING WORK IN THE GARDEN 

THERE will be a good deal of work to do 
in the garden, no matter how small it is. 

A good deal of this work will consist in 
cleaning up and removing rubbish, unless at- 
tention was given to this in the fall. The tops 
of last year's perennials should be cut away 
close to the ground, and dead annuals should 
be pulled up and added to the refuse-heap. 

If a covering was provided for your plants, 
it should be removed altogether or dug into 
the soil about the roots of the plants it pro- 
tected. Never allow it to remain upon the 
ground about the plants unless it is of a 
kind that is not particularly noticeable. 

This should not be done, however, until 

the season is so far advanced that all danger 

of severe freezing is over. A plant that has 

had winter protection will not be in as good 

condition to resist the effect of severe cold as 

it would have been if that protection had not 

been given it. Therefore do not be in that 
21 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

haste which may result in waste. Rome 
wasn't built in a day, and spring isn't con- 
fined to a week. There will be plenty of time 
for uncovering plants when the weather will 
justify it. 

The bulb-bed should not have its covering 
taken off until you are quite sure that the 
weather will not be severe enough to injure 
the tender plants just peeping through the 
soil. Of course one cannot be quite sure 
when it is safe to do this, as our Northern 
seasons are subject to frequent and some- 
times severe relapses. But if we keep an eye 
on the weather we can generally tell when 
uncovering is advisable. If, after the beds 
have been uncovered, a cold spell happens 
along and there seems to be danger in the air, 
spread blankets, old carpeting, or something 
of a similar nature over them. But before 
doing this drive pegs into the ground for 'the 
covering to rest on. Its weight should not 
be allowed to fall upon the young shoots, 
which will be so tender at this period as to be 
easily broken. 

Go through the garden with a view to 
finding what changes can be made advan- 
tageously. We often make sad mistakes in 
the location of our plants, and do not discover 
them until it is too late to unmake them that 

22 



SPRING WORK IN THE GARDEN 

season. Sometimes a plant that has got into 
the wrong place so disappoints us that we 
think of throwing it out, but if we give it a 
place where its merits have an opportunity to 
assert themselves properly it turns out to be 
extremely satisfactory. The aim should be 
to get every plant into the place just suited 
to its peculiarities. It may take several 
seasons to bring about so desirable a result, 
but something along this line should be part 
of every season's work. 

Old clumps of perennials will be greatly 
benefited by a division of their roots about 
once in three years. Take them up, cut their 
roots apart, discard all but the youngest and 
strongest ones, and reset in a soil that has 
been made rich and mellow. 

Shrubs should be looked over with a view to 
doing whatever pruning may seem necessary. 
I do not advise much pruning, however. A 
shrub knows better than I do what shape to 
grow in to be most effective, and I prefer to 
let it train itself. About all the pruning I 
do is to cut away weak wood and to thin out 
the branches if there seems too many of them. 

Early - flowering shrubs should never be 
pruned until after their flowering period is 
over. 

Manure should be applied to all plants 

3 23 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

each spring. The older it is the better if you 
procure it from the barn-yard. On no account 
should fresh manure be used. Spread your 
fertilizer out about the plants, and then work 
it into the soil with spade or hoe. 

You will doubtless find many seedling 
plants in the beds where they germinated 
last fall. These should be transplanted to 
places where they are to bloom as early in the 
spring as possible. All perennials that got a 
start last year will bloom this season, but 
those grown from seed sown this spring will 
not bloom until next year. Therefore make 
liberal use of self-sown plants. 

We are generally in such a hurry to do 
garden work in spring that we begin it before 
the ground is in proper condition to make 
good work possible. If it is spaded up before 
the surplus water from early rains and melt- 
ing snows has had a chance to drain out of it, 
no attempt should be made to pulverize it 
then. It simply will not pulverize, but the re- 
sult of your attempt to make it do so will be 
a lot of lumps and chunks. But if left ex- 
posed to the disintegrating action of wind and 
sunshine and possible showers for a few days, 
it will be in a condition that will make it an 
easy matter to reduce it to fineness under the 
application of hoe or rake. 

24 



SPRING WORK IN THE GARDEN 

Plan your garden. Never trust to "the 
inspiration of the moment " in making it. 
Go over the ground and decide where you 
think this or that plant would be most effec- 
tive. Make a diagram of it, locating each 
plant that you propose to make use of, and 
when seeding-time comes you will have some- 
thing definite to work to. Haphazard gar- 
dening is never satisfactory. 



VII 

MIDSUMMER IN THE GARDEN 

WE somehow get the impression that 
when our garden is made in spring 
that's about all there will be for us to do. 
Our share of the work has been done, and if 
Nature does her share, well and good. But 
in our endeavor to shirk further responsibility 
on to Nature we lose sight of the fact that 
gardening isn't a thing of periods. It is, on 
the contrary, a thing of one period, and that 
period covers the entire season. 

We soon discover that weeds will need at- 
tention every day. It really seems, some- 
times, as if the pulling of one weed gave a 
score of others an opportunity to take its 
place, and that these were waiting impa- 
tiently to step into the shoes of their prede- 
cessors, if such a figure of speech is allow- 
able in this connection. Neglect weeding for 
a week and you will be pretty sure to find that 
your seedlings of flowering plants are "out 

26 



MIDSUMMER IN THE GARDEN 

of sight" in more senses of the term than 
one. 

But weeding is not all that needs to be done. 
There will be more or less transplanting to 
do in the early part of the season. This 
should be done on a cloudy day, if possible. 
If no such day happens along at the time 
when it is absolutely necessary that this 
phase of gardening should be attended to, 
do it after sundown. 

Before lifting the young plants, water 
them well to make the soil adhere to their 
roots. As little exposure to the air as pos- 
sible is desirable. Also have the ground in 
which they are to be set ready to receive 
them, that the work of transplanting may be 
completed with the least possible delay. 

Every gardener ought to provide herself 
with a little trowel that will enable her to lift 
a plant without breaking apart the soil about 
its roots. 

Drop the seedling into the place prepared 
for it, and press the soil about it firmly but 
gently. Then water well. 

If the next day is a warm and sunshiny 
one, some shade should be given the newly 
set plants. By tacking pieces of pasteboard 
six inches wide and eight or ten inches long 
to sticks a foot in length a very practical 

27 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

shade can easily be made. The stick to 
which the pasteboard is fastened by carpet- 
tacks is to be inserted in the ground by each 
plant. The pasteboard is to be bent over 
in such a manner as to prevent the sun's rays 
from striking the plant. By this method 
the plant gets all the protection it needs and 
the air is allowed free circulation about it. 

The hoe ought to be used daily in all gar- 
dens. If the season happens to be a dry one, 
don't forego its use under the impression that 
stirring the soil will result in its drying out. 
If you want to keep moisture out of the soil, 
there is no way of doing it more effectually 
than by allowing it to become crusted over. 
But if you want to get all possible moisture 
into it, keep it light and porous. Such a con- 
dition will make it possible for it to absorb 
whatever moisture there may be in the air. 

Make it a rule to go over your plants when 
they come into bloom and cut off every faded 
flower, to prevent the formation of seed. 
Most plants will give but one general flower- 
ing period if left to manage their own affairs. 
All their energies will be expended in the pro- 
duction of seed. As a natural consequence 
they will give you few or no flowers after the 
early part of summer. But, thwart them in 
their seed-producing intent and they will at 

28 



MIDSUMMER IN THE GARDEN 

once set about getting the start of you by 
making another effort to carry forward to 
completion their original plan. The result 
will be satisfactory to you, if it isn't to them. 

See that all plants needing support are 
provided with it. Never allow plants of 
slender habit to sprawl all over the ground. 
They give the garden an untidy, "mussy" 
look, and constantly accuse you of neglect. 
A bit of brush inserted by the side of such 
plants will furnish all the support required by 
them. 

In watering the garden in a dry season 
make the application after sundown. This 
will allow the plants to get the benefit of 
the water before the sun has a chance to draw 
the moisture out of the soil, as it will rapidly 
do if watering is done in the morning. 

What every gardener needs is a watering- 
pot with a long spout. This will make it an 
easy matter to apply the water close to the 
plant, where none will be wasted. 

Never use a nozzle on your pot when 
watering plants in the garden. That will 
scatter the water over a wide surface, and so 
thinly that but little good will result from the 
application. 



VIII 

WINDOW-BOXES 

BLESSED be window boxes! They are 
excellent substitutes, on a small scale, 
for a garden, and almost any woman can 
have them, while a real garden is out of the 
question for a majority of the women who 
love flowers. A garden on the ground is one 
of the impossibilities for most women in the 
city who could well afford one, so far as 
financial ability is concerned, but she can 
make her windows so attractive with flowers 
and " green things growing''' that she will not 
greatly miss the garden in a crowded city 
whose every foot of land is worth thousands 
of dollars and therefore cannot be given up to 
anything as unprofitable, from a pecuniary 
standpoint, as flower-growing. 

The culture of plants in a window-box 
seems an easy thing to the person who sees 
plants growing luxuriantly in it. But it is 
not as easy as it looks, because the beginner 

30 



WINDOW-BOXES 

in this phase of gardening seldom studies 
conditions before undertaking it. It gener- 
ally takes one or two seasons of mistakes and 
consequent failures to make one a successful 
grower of plants in window-boxes. But after 
repeated failures the amateur generally dis- 
covers what was wrong in her treatment, 
and after that the probabilities of failure are 
slight. 

The cause of failure nine times out of ten is 
lack of sufficient moisture in the soil. A box 
exposed to air on all sides, as most window- 
boxes are, parts rapidly with the water that 
has been applied to it, and before one sus- 
pects the actual condition of things the soil 
in the box becomes so dry that the plants wilt. 
Then a little more water is applied, and the 
plants revive temporarily, but next day they 
wilt again, and shortly this alternation of a 
good deal of drought and a small amount of 
moisture results in the death of the plants. 

A box a foot wide and a foot deep and four 
or five feet long will require a large pailful of 
water daily. If you want to grow good 
plants in boxes don't form the habit which 
prevails to a great extent among amateur 
gardeners — that of applying a small quantity 
of water whenever you happen to think of it. 
A small amount makes the soil look wet on its 

31 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

surface and deceives one into thinking that 
because it looks wet there it must be in proper 
condition below. Examination will convince 
you of this mistake. Always apply enough 
water each time to saturate all the soil in 
the box, and make it a rule to do this 
every morning or evening. If you go on 
the "every-time-you-think-of-it" plan the 
chances are that you will not think of it at 
the right time or as frequently as you ought 
to. Be regular in caring for your plants. 

If those who complain of failure with 
window-boxes will use more water and use it 
frequently, they will have no trouble in grow- 
ing plants in them, and growing them as well 
as they can be grown in pots. And they can 
grow almost any kind of plant. The soil used 
should be rich, to begin with, and later on in 
the season fertilizers should be applied to keep 
the plants well supplied with nutriment. 



IX 



THE USE OF GROWING PLANTS FOR TABLE 
DECORATION 

THE woman who takes pride in making 
the family table attractive at all times 
finds nothing quite so effective for this pur- 
pose as flowers, and these she cannot always 
afford. 

But she need not be without material for 
beautifying the home table if she has win- 
dows in which plants can be grown, for there 
are many plants that are quite as attractive 
as flowers. But a good many persons have 
not yet learned that they can be made 
satisfactory substitutes for cut flowers, be- 
cause they have not taken the trouble to 
study the thing out. They have heretofore 
depended on cut flowers for table decoration, 
as have their friends, and it has not occurred 
to them to get out of the rut they are in and 
think out new ways and means for making 
home pleasant. 

A well-shaped, medium-sized plant with 

33 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

fine foliage will add quite as much to the 
appearance of any table as a vaseful of flow- 
ers that would cost several times as much. 
True, it may lack the brilliant coloring of the 
flowers whose place it takes, but that does 
not prevent it from being beautiful, and 
beauty is what we aim at when we supplement 
the attractions of fine table-linen, sparkling 
cut glass, silver, and dainty china of the well- 
arranged table with the added attraction of 
plants and flowers. 

One of the best plants for this purpose is 
the variety of asparagus catalogued as plu- 
mosus nanus. It is more commonly known as 
asparagus fern, though it is not even a most 
distant relative of the fern family. It has 
foliage so fine that it has all the delicacy 
of lace, and is more like a mist of green than 
like ordinary foliage. It sends up frondlike 
growth that spreads out symmetrically on all 
sides of the pot. Pruning is seldom required 
to bring it into or keep it in proper shape. A 
plant of it, with its pot hidden by a pretty 
jardiniere or wrapped in tissue-paper will be 
in perfect harmony with any table fittings. 
If a bit of bright color is desired, three or four 
roses or half a dozen carnations with their 
stems thrust into the soil in the pot will 
furnish it. If the housewife provides herself 

34 



PLANTS FOR TABLE DECORATION 

with three or four plants of this asparagus, 
she will at all times have something at hand 
with which to make her table attractive. 
In this way she will become independent of 
the florist and his fancy prices. These plants 
are of the easiest culture, and succeed wher- 
ever geraniums can be grown. 

At holiday-time several plants that make 
excellent table decorations are on the market. 
One is ardisia, with rich, dark-green foliage, 
and scarlet berries that are quite as brilliant 
as flowers. Another is the Jerusalem cherry, 
with pretty foliage and a profusion of crimson 
fruit. These plants remain in attractive con- 
dition for weeks, and the woman who invests 
in them has something with which to make 
her table as attractive as it would be if two or 
three dollars had been expended in flowers 
that would last for only a few days. It will 
be seen that it is economy to buy plants of 
this kind. Where there are several there is 
opportunity for variety, thus ruling monotony 
out of the question. 

Cocos Weddelliana is a small-growing palm 
with delicate, feathery foliage. One might 
call it a "baby" palm because of its small 
size. A plant of it always adds distinction 
to the table on which it is used. This, like 
the asparagus, the ardisia, and the Jerusalem 

35 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

cherry, readily adapts itself to ordinary win- 
dow culture. 

Begonia Gloire de Lorraine is a most beauti- 
ful flowering plant. It bears its dainty pink 
blossoms so profusely and in such wide- 
spreading panicles that the pot in which it 
grows is often entirely hidden by it. Its 
color is charming by daylight, and under arti- 
ficial light it is lovely beyond description. I 
know of no other pink flower that is as sat- 
isfactory by lamplight. When an especially 
dainty and out-of-the-common decoration is 
wanted for the table, nothing superior to it 
can be found. This begonia can be obtained 
from most florists in fall. If care is taken 
to remove it from the table to the window 
after it has done decorative duty, it will re- 
main in bloom during the greater part of 
winter. But it must not be left on the table 
long at a time. Neither should any of the 
other plants named, for they will suffer if 
kept away from good light very long. 

Primula obconica is a most satisfactory 
plant for table use when in full bloom. Its 
trusses of pale lilac, soft pink, or pure white 
have such a wild-woodsy air about them that 
they are always sure of such attention as 
American Beauties seldom get. The baby 
primrose is a miniature edition of P. obconica, 

36 



PLANTS FOR TABLE DECORATION 

and it is one of the most lovable flowers im- 
aginable. Like its larger relative, it is a free 
and constant bloomer, and on this account 
will be found very useful as a table ornament. 

Small specimens of auricaria, with heavy, 
dark-green foliage much like that of our na- 
tive hemlocks and balsam, make a novel 
decoration. This is the plant that the chil- 
dren delight in calling the Christmas-tree 
plant, because of its shape and its evergreen 
foliage. 

During fall and winter, when fruit and 
vegetables are plentiful, very pleasing table 
decorations can be made from them. On 
Thanksgiving Day such an arrangement will 
be found very appropriate. 

A friend of mine who has no windows at 
which flowers can be grown well, but who, in 
spite of that, is determined to make her table 
attractive, lays in a supply of bittersweet 
berries during the fall, and " everlasting 
flowers," like gomphrena, helichrysum, cocks- 
comb, and others whose petals are strawlike 
in texture, and from these she contrives some 
really charming decorations for her table. 
Where there is a will there is always a way, 
you know. 

It will be seen from what I have said above 
that many plants can be grown in the win- 

37 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

dows of the living-room that can be used 
with fine effect in table decoration. I would 
advise making a collection of such varieties 
as I have named for this especial purpose. 
With such a collection to draw from no 
woman need be at loss for decorative ma- 
terial, and while her plants are not doing duty 
on the table they will be making her windows 
attractive, thus serving a double purpose. 



DECORATIVE PLANTS 

THERE are few homes nowadays in which 
at least one plant of ornamental foliage 
cannot be found. I know of many in which 
some have had place so long that they have 
come to be considered as members of the 
family. Especially is this true among Ger- 
man people, who have an especial fondness 
for bride's myrtle and English ivy. In many 
of these homes I have found finer plants 
than I have seen in any greenhouse. I am 
not sure that they do not get more care than 
the children of the family. 

The myrtle to which I refer has small, fine 
foliage, evergreen in character, of a rich, 
glossy green. It branches freely, and in two 
or three years becomes a good-sized shrub. 
It does not bloom very freely, but this does 
not detract much from the value of the plant, 
as its flowers are small and not at all showy, 
though really quite pretty in their snow-white 

4 39 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

purity. The real value of the plant is in its 
foliage. It can be kept growing the year 
round, or it can be wintered in the cellar. In 
summer a plant of this kind will be found 
very effective for porch decoration. 

The English ivy is our best evergreen vine. 
It is one of the few plants that can be grown 
successfully in rooms where there is not much 
direct light. Indeed, I have seen it trained 
across the ceiling, in German homes, where 
the light seemed insufficient to meet the re- 
quirements of any plant, and there its leaves 
were as dark in color as those of most other 
plants are when standing close to the glass, 
and seemed to be quite as healthy. Two or 
three times a year, the owners told me, the 
vine was taken down, coiled up for conven- 
ience in transit, and taken out of doors. 
There it was spread out upon the grass and 
left until the rain had washed it clean. Be- 
cause of the thick, firm, leathery texture of 
its foliage it seemed immune from the bad 
effects of dust, hot, dry air, and the absence of 
direct light. When well grown it is a plant 
that any one might well be proud of. For 
training up about the ceiling of the bay- 
window it stands at the head of the list of 
vines adapted to house culture. 

Sometimes scale attacks both myrtle and 

40 






DECORATIVE PLANTS 

ivy. When this happens heroic measures 
must be resorted to in order to head off per- 
manent injury. In the chapter on "The 
Insect Enemies of Plants " a remedy is sug- 
gested that seldom fails to produce most sat- 
isfactory results. 

Palms are universal favorites. There are 
but three varieties that I feel justified in 
recommending for amateur culture. These 
are the arecas, especially A. lutescens, Latania 
borbonica, better known as the "fan palm," 
and the kentias, belmoreana and fosteriana. 

Of these three varieties I would advise the 
kentias for beginners in palm-culture, as they 
are more robust than any of the others and 
quite as ornamental. They are of somewhat 
coarser habit than Areca lutescens, which is an 
almost ideal sort for general use. Latania 
borbonica has large, almost circular leaves 
borne on short, stout stalks, thrown out from 
the center of the plants. It does not grow 
tall like the kentias or the arecas. It is the 
variety from which our palm-leaf fans are 
made. One who has never seen this plant 
can get a fairly good idea of the shape of its 
foliage by looking at one of these fans. The 
three varieties mentioned are all of com- 
paratively easy culture. Give them a loamy 
soil, well drained, and enough water to keep 

41 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

the soil always moist. Keep them out of 
strong sunshine. Don't experiment with 
them, hoping to hasten development. As 
long as they keep on producing three or four 
new leaves during the year, let them alone. 
If they lift the crown of the plant out of or 
above the soil, and the roots give them the 
appearance of a plant on stilts, don't be 
frightened, and repot them, setting them low 
in the soil to cover the roots. It's natural 
for them to grow in that way. Wash the 
foliage at least once a week. Add a little 
sweet milk to the water. This will give a 
gloss to the foliage that will add much to its 
attractiveness. 

Next to the palm in popularity is the 
Boston fern. This is a favorite with every 
one who succeeds in growing it well, because 
of its great profusion of fronds, three or four 
feet long, which droop over the pot gracefully 
and make the plant a veritable fountain of 
foliage. Another reason for its great popu- 
larity is its ease of culture. Give it a light, 
spongy soil and a moderate amount of water 
and it will make quite a rapid growth. It is 
not an exacting plant in any respect, and will 
do well in almost any kind of soil except those 
which contain a large amount of clay. But it 
does best in a soil that is light and porous. 

42 



DECORATIVE PLANTS 

Never give enough water to make the soil 
muddy. 

The third place on the list ought to be 
given to the ficus, more commonly known as 
rubber-plant. This is also of easy culture. 
It never fails to attract attention by its 
large, thick, glossy, dark-green foliage. 

The aspidistra ought not to be overlooked. 
Because it does not grow to a considerable 
height, like the ficus, it has not attained the 
popularity of that plant, as yet, but it will be 
a universal favorite as soon as its merits 
become fully known. Its great masses of 
dark-green foliage are extremely ornamental, 
and the fact that it is the one plant in the list 
of decorative plants suitable for amateur use 
that can be said to almost take care of itself 
will appeal to those who want something that 
can always be depended on to look well. 
Give it enough water to keep the soil in its pot 
moist at all times, and that is about all it will 
ask of you. It is not at all particular as to 
the soil given it, and it seems to care very 
little for direct light. It will stand more 
abuse and neglect, and flourish under it, than 
any other plant I have any knowledge of. 



XI 

THE BULB-BED 

THE bulb-bed should be located in some 
part of the yard where there is good, 
natural drainage or where it will be an easy- 
matter to secure an artificial one by excavat- 
ing the soil to the depth of a foot and a half 
and filling the bottom of it with material that 
will not readily decay, such as broken brick, 
crockery, or crushed stone. The object is to 
provide escape for surplus water from the soil 
above in spring. No bulb can be grown suc- 
cessfully in a soil that is unduly retentive of 
water about its roots. 

In arranging for artificial drainage, after 
filling the bottom of the excavation with 
five or six inches of drainage material, the 
soil that was thrown out should be returned 
to it, working into it, as this is done, a 
liberal amount of good manure. The best of 
all fertilizers for all bulbs is old, well-rotted 

barn-yard soil. If this cannot be obtained 

44 



THE BULB-BED 

make use of some good commercial fertilizer. 
As soils differ greatly, and not all commercial 
fertilizers are adapted to all soils, I would sug- 
gest that some person in the community who 
understands the nature of its soil and the kind 
of fertilizer which suits it best should be con- 
sulted, and that the maker of a bulb-bed 
should be governed by his advice as to what 
kind to make use of. It is not well to let 
guesswork govern in the matter. 

If possible, choose a location that slopes 
toward the south. This will give the bed the 
benefit of sun warmth early in the season, and 
the plants in it will be greatly helped by it. 

It is quite important that the soil for bulbs 
should be made fine and mellow and that 
whatever fertilizer is used should be thor- 
oughly incorporated with it. While it is true 
that most bulbs will do fairly well in soils of 
only moderate richness, it is impossible for 
them to do themselves anything like justice 
in it. Keep this fact in mind, and be gen- 
erous in your supply of plant food. 

The proper time to plant bulbs is in late 
September and early October. This enables 
them to make a strong root-growth before 
winter sets in. Such a growth puts them in 
proper condition for flowering in spring. 
Late planting does not admit of the comple- 

45 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

tion of root-growth in fall, consequently some 
of it has to be made in spring. This obliges 
the plants to divide their work at that season 
between root-growth and flower production, 
and as these processes ought not to go on at 
the same time the result is an inferior crop 
of flowers and unsatisfactory bulb-develop- 
ment. I cannot urge too strongly the ad- 
vantages of early planting. 

The best bulbs for the amateur gardener are 
Holland hyacinths, tulips, and the narcissus. 
These are very hardy and floriferous, and suc- 
ceed in almost all soils. And they are so 
beautiful that they deserve a place in all col- 
lections. They should be set about four 
inches below the surface, and about that 
distance apart. 

Before winter sets in the bed should be 
covered with leaves, straw, or coarse litter 
from the barn-yard. Let the covering be 
about six inches deep. It will not prevent 
the ground from freezing, but it will prevent 
it from freezing and thawing alternately. 
If this takes place the bulbs are pretty sure to 
be torn from their places, and their tender, 
recently formed roots broken off. 

Of course there are other bulbs than those 
of which I have made mention that are well 
worth growing, but they are not as well 

46 



THE BULB-BED 

adapted to amateur culture as those are, 
therefore I would advise the beginner in bulb- 
growing to confine her attention to^ the har- 
diest and least particular kinds until she feels 
that her success with them justifies her in 
" branching out" and making an attempt to 
grow those which require greater care and a 
good deal more of it. 



XII 

GETTING READY FOR WINTER 

A SUPPLY of good potting-soil should be 
put into the cellar for use during the 
winter if needed. Often a plant will have 
outgrown its pot, thus making immediate 
repotting necessary in order to continue the 
healthy condition of it, but if there is no good 
soil at hand it will be obliged to do the best it 
can until spring comes, and by that time it 
will have received a check from which it will 
be a long time in recovering, and quite often 
it will die as the result of failure to give it 
proper attention when it was in most need of 
it. If you have a supply of potting-soil in 
stock there will be no excuse for not caring 
for your plants promptly when the advisa- 
bility of repotting is indicated. 

A very satisfactory potting-soil is com- 
posed of garden loam, two parts; leaf -mold 
or its substitute, one part; and clean, coarse 
sand, one part. To this should be added 
some well-rotted cow manure, if obtainable. 

48 



GETTING READY FOR WINTER 

Work the compost over until all its ingre- 
dients are thoroughly mixed. The quantity 
of manure required to make the compost suf- 
ficiently rich to suit all kinds of plants will 
depend on the quality of the loam used. If 
that is quite rich, do not add much manure 
to it. If only of moderate richness, more can 
be used. This is a matter which will have to 
be decided largely by results. If the plants 
you put into the compost make a strong, 
healthy growth, the soil is rich enough. If 
the growth does not seem strong, more plant 
food is required. 

A good substitute for cow manure is fine 
bone-meal in the proportion of a pound to a 
bushel of soil. A good substitute for leaf- 
mold will be found in that portion of old 
sward from pasture or roadside which con- 
tains fine grass roots. Turn the sward over 
and cut away this part of it, to mix with the 
loam and sand. These roots will be found 
almost as rich in vegetable matter as pure 
leaf -mold. 

Some persons may wonder why I advise the 

liberal use of sand, which is not supposed to 

contain much nutriment. I do it because I 

have found from long experience in growing 

plants that sand not only facilitates good 

drainage, but enables air to get to the roots of 
49 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

the plants as it never can do when the soil is 
not light and porous. And sand is a sweet- 
ener of soil, as is charcoal. Of course not all 
plants are alike in their requirements. Roses, 
for instance, like a rather heavy, compact 
soil. In growing them use the loam without 
sand. If I had to choose between sand and 
manure in making potting-soil for nearly all 
plants adapted to window culture, I would 
take the sand. 

It is not too late to set out seedling plants of 
such perennials as phlox and hollyhock if care 
is taken to lift enough soil with them to insure 
against disturbance of their roots. Work of 
this kind can be done to better advantage now 
than in spring. 

Now is a good time to go over the shrubs 
and give such pruning as may seem necessary. 
As a general thing, the less pruning given a 
shrub the better, for if left to itself it will do 
a much better job of training than we are 
capable of doing for it. But it is advisable 
that all shrubs should have the old, weak wood 
cut away each season. This is pruning for 
health — not for symmetry. Nature has a 
keener eye for the symmetrical than we have, 
therefore we are justified in leaving the train- 
ing of our shrubs to her, or to the shrubs, act- 
ing under her advice. 

50 



GETTING READY FOR WINTER 

Oleanders, fuchsias, hydrangeas, chrysan- 
themums — in fact, all hard-wooded plants 
that are summer and autumn bloomers — 
should be wintered in the cellar. Here, if the 
temperature is kept low, they will be practi- 
cally dormant for several months, thus getting 
the same kind of a resting-spell that comes to 
deciduous plants out of doors during winter. 
Give just enough water to prevent the soil 
from becoming dust-dry. Do not be fright- 
ened if some of them shed their foliage while 
in cold storage; outdoor plants do that. If 
the place in which they are kept can be 
made dark, all the better. 

Dahlia roots should be spread out on 
swinging-shelves of wire netting when stored 
away. Never heap them together, and never 
put them on the cellar-bottom, for it is likely 
to be too damp there. Mold, which is largely 
the result of dampness, must be guarded 
against, hence the advantage of hanging- 
shelves which will allow a free circulation of 
air about the roots spread out on them. 
Look them over at least every week. If you 
find any that show signs of mold or decay, 
separate them immediately from the healthy 
ones. If allowed to remain, the diseased 
condition will surely be communicated to the 
entire mass of roots. 

51 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

All plants that seem to need repotting 
should be attended to before winter sets in. 
This will give them plenty of time to become 
thoroughly re-established before the winter 
campaign is on, and it will not be necessary 
to disturb them in the middle of the busy 
season. 

All the windows at which plants are kept 
should be looked over before cold weather 
comes, and made proof against cracks and 
crevices that will let in cold air. It is a good 
plan to provide these windows with storm- 
sash. If this is done, the plants can be al- 
lowed to stand with their leaves against the 
glass, as the air space between window and 
storm-sash will prevent frost from forming on 
the inner panes. 

Gladiolus roots should be stored in boxes 
of perfectly dry sawdust or buckwheat hulls 
and kept in a dry and rather cool place. 
Never put them in the cellar. Be careful 
to see that no frost gets to them. Or they 
can be wrapped in paper and put into paper 
bags and hung in a closet. If kept in a very 
warm place over winter they frequently be- 
come so dry that there is little vitality left in 
them by spring. 

Tuberous begonias and gloxinias will most 
likely have ended their flowering season by 

52 



GETTING READY FOR WINTER 

this time. Allow the soil in their pots to 
become dry. Then set them away in a dark 
closet without in any way disturbing the 
tubers. Treated in this manner, they winter 
much more satisfactorily than when the roots 
are taken out of the soil. In spring, when the 
plants are brought to the light and water is 
given, they will soon send up new sprouts. 
Then the roots should be shaken out of the 
old soil and supplied with fresh earth. 

In covering roses do not make use of leaves 
if there happens to be anything else at hand 
that will afford the necessary protection. 
Leaves would make an ideal covering were it 
not for the fact that it is almost impossible to 
keep mice from working in them. Last sea- 
son I lost every rose-bush that was covered 
with leaves. The mice had gnawed all the 
bark from them. Covering the bushes with 
dry earth is preferable. 



XIII 

BULBS FOR WINTER FLOWERING 

WHENEVER any one writes me that 
she is fond of flowers, and would be 
delighted if she could have some in winter, 
but that she fails to get satisfaction from the 
ordinary house-plant, I always advise her to 
try bulbs. For I know that one is reasonably 
sure of getting fine flowers from this class of 
plants, provided we are willing to give them 
the right kind of treatment. One will get 
more flowers from them than she can expect 
from the ordinary collection found in the 
average window garden — we can have them 
through the entire winter if we plan for a 
succession — and we have few flowers that 
equal those of the bulbs in beauty. And, 
last but not least, they require really less 
care than is demanded by the majority of 
house-plants. 

Three things are essential to success in the 
culture of bulbs in the house: 

54 



BULBS FOR WINTER FLOWERING 

First — Good stock. 

Second — Good soil. 

Third — Root development before top 
growth takes place. 

The first essential is readily met if you 
order your bulbs from reliable dealers — 
dealers who have established a reputation for 
honesty and the handling of bulbs of the best 
quality only. Each season we see advertise- 
ments in which large collections of bulbs are 
offered at very low prices. Beware of them. 
As a general thing the wonderfully cheap 
ones are as cheap in quality as they are in 
price, and from such a grade of bulbs you 
cannot expect fine flowers. The best bulbs 
are imported ones, grown largely in Holland, 
where both soil and climate are admirably 
adapted to the production of first-class stock, 
and where the matter of bulb-growing has 
been reduced to almost a science. These 
will cost a little more than American-grown 
ones, but they are well worth the difference 
in price. Inferior stock will give inferior 
flowers every time, and what one wants in 
forcing bulbs in winter is the best flowers 
possible. 

The item of good soil is a most important 
one. Bulbs can be grown, after a fashion, in 
almost any kind of soil, but they can only be 
5 55 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

grown to perfection in a soil whose basis is 
a sandy loam made quite rich with some good 
fertilizer. Heavy soils can be made lighter 
by mixing sharp, coarse sand with them until 
the mixture, after being squeezed tightly in 
the hand, will readily fall apart after pressure 
is relaxed. 

The ideal fertilizer for all bulbs is old, 
thoroughly rotted cow manure. On no ac- 
count should fresh manure of any kind be 
used. But it is not always possible to pro- 
cure manure from the" cow-yard, and those 
who are unable to do so will find fine bone 
meal a good substitute. Use this in the pro- 
portion of a pound to a half-bushel of soil. 
Whatever fertilizer is used should be thor- 
oughly mixed with the soil. Be very sure that 
the latter is free from lumps. 

In potting bulbs for winter use I would 

advise putting several in the same pot. Fill 

the pot loosely with soil, then press such 

bulbs as those of the hyacinth, tulip, and 

narcissus down into it just their depth. As 

many can be used in a pot as can be set on 

the surface of the soil in it so that they just 

touch one another. Do not attempt to make 

the soil firm about them or beneath them. If 

this is done their tender roots will often fail to 

penetrate it, and the consequence will be that 
56 



BULBS FOR WINTER FLOWERING 

the bulbs are hoisted upward as the roots 
develop. This should be guarded against by 
having the soil so light that the young roots 
will find no difficulty in making their way 
into it. I advise the use of several bulbs in 
the same pot because it gives a greater 
amount of bloom in a limited space, and 
greatly economizes in soil, pots, and labor. 

When you have put your bulbs into the 
soil, water them well, and then set the pots 
away in a place that is cool and dark. Some 
persons consider this unnecessary, and put 
their plants in the window as soon as potted. 
This is all wrong. Storage in a cool, dark 
room until roots have formed is absolutely 
necessary to success. The reason for it is 
plain if we stop to think that the bulbs must 
have roots before they can make a satisfactory 
growth of top. Roots first, flowers afterward. 

As a general thing bulbs will have to re- 
main in cold, storage at least six weeks before 
it will be safe to bring them to the windows 
in which they are to bloom. But no definite 
time can be assigned. One must examine the 
plants from time to time, and on no account 
should they be taken to the light until the 
pot is filled with roots and indications of top 
growth are seen. 

It may sometimes be necessary to water 
57 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

them while in the dark room, but as a general 
thing one watering — the one given at potting- 
time — will be sufficient. Too much water 
while in the dark may cause serious trouble. 
But this, like the length of time allowed for 
root formation, is a matter that must be left 
largely to the good judgment of the grower. 

When plants have been brought from the 
cellar, or wherever they have been placed 
while roots were forming, they should not be 
put into very warm rooms. Too much heat, 
combined with the effects of light and water, 
will result in rapid growth, which is not a 
healthy one. In warm rooms the flowers will 
be short-lived. 

I have spoken of planting for a succession 
of bloom. This is important if you want 
flowers throughout the winter. Pot a few at 
intervals of ten days or two weeks, beginning 
the middle of September or first of October. 
If this is done it is an easy matter to keep 
the window supplied with flowers from the 
holidays to the advent of spring. A little 
calculation will enable one to plant enough 
to meet the demand and to regulate the 
planting intervals in such a manner as to 
bring about the succession necessary to cover 
the season. 

What has been said above may seem so 

58 



BULBS FOR WINTER FLOWERING 

elaborate to the person who has never grown 
bulbs for winter flowering that it may give 
the impression that what is really a simple 
matter is too difficult for the amateur. But 
if what I have written is read over care- 
fully and given a little thought you will 
readily see, I think, that most of what I 
have said has been devoted to giving reasons 
for the treatment outlined, so that the "whys 
and wherefores" may be understood. And 
it will be seen that it all resolves itself into 
a very simple proposition — viz., good stock, 
good soil, and cold storage until roots have 
formed — the three essentials spoken of at the 
beginning of this chapter. Nothing is re- 
quired that the beginner in floriculture is 
not equal to. Potting the bulbs is a much 
simpler matter than potting a plant, and the 
preparation of soil for them involves no more 
labor or skill than the preparation of a soil 
for a geranium to grow in. 

Now as to kinds to grow. I advise the 
Holland hyacinth, preferably the single vari- 
eties; the Roman hyacinth, the white variety 
only; early tulips; and five varieties of the 
narcissus — Van Sion, Horsfeildii, empress, 
trumpet-major, and paper- white — and the 
Bermuda, or, as it is more commonly called, 
Easter lily. 

59 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

The double Holland hyacinths are too 
double to be pleasing to a person who likes 
individuality in a flower. The Roman hy- 
acinth is more graceful than any other mem- 
ber of the family. The early tulip is much 
surer to bloom well than any of the others 
described in*the florist's catalogue. 

The Easter lily requires a treatment some- 
what different from that advised for the other 
bulbs. It sends forth two sets of roots, one 
from the base of the bulb and one from 
the stalk sent up from the bulb. In order to 
give each set of roots a chance we have to 
set the bulb deep down in the soil. Let the 
pot be only half filled with earth when the 
lily is put into it, press it down as directed for 
the other bulbs, and add no more soil until 
growth begins. Then, as the stalk reaches 
up, put more soil into the pot, and continue 
to do this until it is full. In this way give 
the two sets of roots the support they need. 

If bone meal is used as a fertilizer, be sure 
to get the finely ground article. Coarse bone 
meal is not what you need, as it does not 
give an immediate effect. 



XIV 

THE WINTER WINDOW-GARDEN 

IN fall, when we bring in the plants that 
have been growing out of doors during 
the summer, they usually look healthy, and 
we congratulate ourselves that we are likely 
to have a fine crop of flowers from them later 
on. But soon we see some of their leaves 
turning yellow and falling off, and though 
they may make considerable growth, it is 
unsatisfactory because it is spindling and 
weak. If buds form, they are pretty sure to 
blight before reaching maturity, and, in- 
stead of having the fine, floriferous plants we 
had counted on, we have a window-garden 
that is more noticeable for its discouraged 
look than for anything else. 

The owner of such a garden too often 
aims to remedy the unfavorable conditions 
which exist in it by applying some kind of 
fertilizer to her plants. By doing this she 
simply makes a bad matter worse, for the 
61 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

application of any kind of plant food to weak 
and debilitated plants is on a par with giving 
rich food to a person whose stomach is not 
in a condition to make proper use of it. No 
fertilizer should ever be given to a plant that 
is not in healthy condition; neither should it 
be given to dormant plants. When active 
growth begins, then, and then only, should 
they be stimulated to stronger growth by 
feeding them well. But care must be taken 
to not overfeed them. Give only enough to 
bring about a vigorous growth, but not a 
rapid one, for that is pretty sure to be a weak 
one from which there will be a reaction by 
and by, from which your over-stimulated 
plants will suffer severely. Most growers of 
house plants are too kind to them. In this 
respect they are like a good many mothers 
who injure their children by over-indulgence 
through mistaken ideas of kindness. 

In applying fertilizers, begin by giving 
them in small quantities. Watch their effect 
upon the plants. If their leaves increase in 
size and take on a rich color, be satisfied that 
you are feeding your plants quite enough for 
their good. 

The impression prevails to a considerable 
extent that by fertilizing plants we secure 
more flowers from them than we would be 

62 



THE WINTER WINDOW-GARDEN 

likely to do if no fertilizer was used. Such 
is not the case. Feed a plant rich food and 
it will be likely to make a vigorous growth of 
branches and foliage at the expense of flowers. 
The aim should be to simply keep the plants 
growing well. If this is done, whatever flowers 
they produce will share in the general benefit 
of the application, but they will not be in- 
creased in quantity by it. 

One reason why the plants in the winter 
window-garden fail at the time when we think 
they ought to be doing their best is lack of 
fresh air. If one stops to think about it one 
will not wonder that her plants have a sickly 
look. We keep our windows closed tightly, 
thus keeping out the air that the plants need, 
and we put storm-doors on every entrance. 
In fact, we do everything in our power, 
seemingly, to prevent fresh air from getting 
to them, and then we wonder why our plants 
do not flourish. We lose sight of the fact that 
plants breathe, the same as human beings do. 
A little intelligent consideration of the con- 
ditions under which we undertake to grow 
them ought to convince us of the mistake we 
make in expecting them to do well without a 
regular supply of fresh air. While it is well 
to make the windows at which plants are 
kept tight enough to prevent draughts of cold 

63 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

air from coming in upon them, it is not only 
advisable but absolutely necessary, if we 
would grow healthy plants, to give them a 
liberal supply of fresh air every day, and 
preferably several times a day. This can be 
done by opening a door or a window at some 
distance from them, and letting fresh, pure 
air rush into and fill the room. If possible, 
let down a window a few inches from the top 
on the side of the room opposite from where 
the air comes in, to allow the vitiated air of 
the room to readily escape before the onrush 
of outdoor air. In this way it is an easy mat- 
ter to completely change the character of the 
air in a room in a few minutes, and in doing 
it we benefit the human occupants of the 
room quite as much as we do the plants in it. 
If the owner of every window-garden would 
make it a daily practice to give her plants an 
air-bath she would be surprised at the speedy 
improvement that would be noticeable in 
them. 

We weaken our plants, as we do ourselves, 
by keeping the temperature of our rooms too 
high. We are not satisfied with a comfort- 
able warmth. We want heat enough to 
keep us constantly conscious of it by its 
intensity. This is all wrong from the health 
point of view. What ought to be done is to 

64 



THE WINTER WINDOW-GARDEN 

install a thermometer in every room, and so 
regulate the amount of heat that all are kept 
at summer warmth by arranging for a system 
of ventilation that will act automatically 
when the thermometer goes above a certain 
point. This system is speedily coming into 
general use, and gives most excellent satis- 
faction. Where it is not in use, the tempera- 
ture can be kept somewhere near where it 
ought to be by opening doors or windows 
from time to time, as already spoken of. 
Keep in mind that too much heat and too lit- 
tle fresh air will kill almost any plant in time, 
and the two, working together, will, nine 
times out of ten, make any window-garden 
a comparative failure. 

Care must be taken in watering plants in 
winter. Those which are dormant, or are 
making but little growth, will require very 
little water. Those in active growth will 
need more. The only way to tell how much 
to give is to watch your plants closely, and 
observe the effect of the applications given. 
When the surface of the soil takes on a dry 
look it is safe to conclude that the roots of 
the plant in the pot have made use of most of 
the moisture in it, and that more water 
should be given. Then give enough to make 
the soil moist all through, and withhold 

65 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

further applications until the dry look ap- 
pears again. Never form the habit of water- 
ing your plants every time you happen to 
think about it, and then apply just enough to 
make the soil look wet on its surface. If this 
is done you will never grow good plants, for 
only the surface roots will get the moisture 
they need. Have a stated time for watering, 
and let the appearance of the soil govern the 
amount used. 



XV 

THE INSECT ENEMIES OF PLANTS 

EVERY woman who attempts to grow 
flowers in the house will sooner or later 
have to wage warfare against insects. 

Perhaps the first battle will have to be 
fought with the aphis, or plant-louse. This 
insect sucks the sap — the life-blood of the 
plant — from stalk and leaf, and soon, if let 
alone, it will exhaust the vitality of the plant 
to a degree that is wholly imcompatible with 
health. In fact, if allowed to have its way, it 
will kill your plants, for it propagates its 
species with such rapidity that a plant will 
soon be literally covered with them. We 
used to kill off these insects by fumigating 
the plants infested with them with tobacco 
smoke, and in doing it we made ourselves 
about as sick as the insects were, and the 
nauseating fumes of it clung to everything in 
and about the house for days. Nowadays we 
make use of the nicotine principle of tobacco 
67 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

in our warfare against the aphis, but in a man- 
ner that leaves out the objectionable features 
of fumigation. Tobacco manufacturers have 
prepared an extract of the nicotine in the 
plant, and put it on the market under the 
name of nicoticide. All we have to do 
when we want to make use of it is to put a 
small quantity in water, and spray our plants 
with the mixture. Every aphis that it 
touches will die, and those that it fails to 
reach will take the hint that they are not 
wanted and that their presence will not long 
be tolerated, and. the first you know they will 
have disappeared. 

Instead of waiting for the attack of the 
enemy I consider it good policy to anticipate 
it by frequent applications of the tobacco- 
bath. It will be found easier to keep the 
enemy away than to rout it after it has 
established itself on your plants. 

The red spider is another insect that does 
deadly work in the window-garden, especially 
in rooms where the temperature is high and 
there is little moisture in the air — a condition 
that generally prevails in the ordinary living- 
room. This pest is so small that its presence 
is seldom suspected until considerable injury 
has been done to the plants it works on. If 
you notice that leaves are turning yellow and 

68 



THE INSECT ENEMIES OF PLANTS 

dropping off, and that more and more of them 
fall each day, you had better look into the 
matter. Examine some of the fallen leaves. 
If you find tiny webs on the under side of them 
you may be quite sure that the spider is re- 
sponsible for the condition your plants are in. 
Look at some of the leaves that are yellowing, 
but have not yet let go their hold, and you 
will be quite likely to find little red specks 
on them. These specks resemble grains of 
fine Cayenne pepper more than anything else. 
Watch them for a while and you will find 
that they are living organisms. It seems 
hardly possible that such tiny creatures can 
do much harm to a strong plant, but the 
fact is that there is no more voracious enemy 
of plant life in existence. Here the tobacco- 
bath does not come in play. Cold water is 
all the insecticide we need. Spray it over 
every portion of the infested plants daily, 
until they again take on a healthy look and 
begin to grow. The spider will not stay long 
in a moist atmosphere. Make it moist and 
keep it so by the liberal use of water sprayed 
upon your plants, and you will have very 
little trouble with this dangerous pest. But 
if you neglect to use water regularly and 
freely the probabilities are that your window- 
garden will look rather sickly by spring. 
69 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

Scale is an insect that often attacks plants 
having thick, firm-textured foliage, like the 
oleander, lemon, ivy, ficus, and palm. It is a 
flat creature, looking more like a fish-scale 
than anything else, hence its name. It at- 
taches itself to the leaf and sucks the life out 
of it. The best weapon to fight this enemy 
with is an emulsion made as follows: shave 
thinly half a pound of white soap; pour a 
little water over it and set it on the stove to 
liquefy. When the soap is melted, add to it a 
pint of water and bring to a boil. When 
boiling, add a teacupful of kerosene and three 
tablespoonfuls of the tobacco extract. These 
ingredients, under the effect of heat, will form 
an emulsion that will unite readily with water. 
Use in the proportion of one part emulsion to 
fifteen parts water. Apply to the infested 
plants with a soft cloth or a earner s-hair 
brush. Be sure that some of it gets to all 
parts of the plant. Two or three applica- 
tions may be necessary. Prepare a quantity 
of it and keep it on hand for use when 
needed. 

The emulsion spoken of above is an excel- 
lent remedy for the ills the rose is heir to 
during the early part of the season. If 
Paris green is sprayed onto the plants the 

foliage is frequently burned by it. If kero- 
70 



THE INSECT ENEMIES OF PLANTS 

sene is mixed with water and applied, the oil 
will seldom emulsify perfectly with the water, 
and wherever a drop of it falls on leaf or bud 
it will do quite as much damage as would the 
bug or worm you are fighting. Hellebore 
is never to be depended on. The kerosene- 
tobacco-soap emulsion will be found safe and 
effective. 

Worms in the soil of pot plants can be got 
rid of by the use of lime-water. Put a 
piece of perfectly fresh lime as large as the 
ordinary coffee-cup in ten quarts of water. 
If fresh, as it must be to be of any benefit, the 
water will seem to boil for a little while. By 
and by a white sediment will settle to the bot- 
tom of the vessel, and the water above will be 
clear. Pour this off and apply enough of it 
to each plant to saturate all the soil in the 
pot. Plug up the drainage hole in the bot- 
tom of the pot before the application is made, 
that the water may be retained long enough 
to do its work. Repeat the application if 
necessary. 

6 



XVI 

GARDENING FOR CHILDREN 

IF you want to keep children out of mischief 
give them a little garden. One that they 
can call their own will afford them far more 
pleasure than they get out of working in your 
garden. Of course they will not be expected 
to go ahead with garden work at first and 
make much success at it without assistance 
from some one, and by object-lessons, but 
they will soon master the fundamental points 
of it, and when they have done that they will 
surprise you by the facility with which they 
pick up the information that grows out of 
their early experience and the amount of 
work that they will accomplish all by them- 
selves. 

And you will be pleased to see how inter- 
ested they are in the new undertaking. It 
will not seem like work to them. It will be 
play, and play of such a healthy character 
that you can well afford to ignore soiled 

72 . 



GARDENING FOR CHILDREN 

clothes, and hands that have caught the grime 
of the soil, and faces on which sweat and soil 
have met on common ground and formed an 
intimate partnership. The healthy color of 
the faces of the children who work out of 
doors, and the excellent appetites that they 
bring to the table, will convince you that 
gardening is the best of all tonics for them. 

And you will be gratified to know that 
they are learning more from the great book 
of Nature than they would ever learn in the 
schools. They are learning things at first 
hand, for Nature will take charge of the little 
pupils and not trust her kindergarten work 
to an assistant. Nine children out of ten 
who have a garden to work in will become 
more interested in it than in all the fairy- 
books that were ever written. For are not the 
processes of germination and growth going on 
before their eyes akin to magic? The miracle 
of life is being performed before them every 
day, and they are taking part in it. That 
is what will make it so delightful to them. 
They have formed a partnership with Nature 
in miracle-making. 

Parents who have only a hazy notion of 
garden-work may think themselves incom- 
petent to teach their children. But if they 
set out to do so they will soon find that 

73 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

they are daily learning enough to make them 
safe teachers for the little folks. And the 
best of it will be that they themselves are 
getting quite as much good and pleasure out 
of it as the children are. 

Give the boys and girls good tools to work 
with. Never ask them to make use of those 
you have worn out or found worthless. 
Something quite as good as you would pro- 
vide for yourself is what should be provided 
for them. They will appreciate a good 
thing, be very sure, and the fact that they 
have it will be one of the best possible incen- 
tives to work. Supply them with good seed. 
And do not fail to encourage them by giving 
all the credit justly due them for what they 
accomplish. Children like to know that their 
efforts are properly appreciated. We grown- 
ups and the children are very much alike in 
that respect. 



XVII 

HOME AND GARDEN CONVENIENCES 

THERE are many ways in which work in 
the garden and about the home can be 
varied in such a manner as to give a variety 
of comparatively new and pleasing effects 
with so little trouble and expense that the 
amateur gardener and home-maker who 
would like " something new" will, I feel sure, 
be delighted to undertake some of them. 

One is a floral awning for the windows 
which are exposed to strong sunshine. A 
frame is made of lath, the width of the win- 
dow and half its depth, by nailing four of the 
strips together in a square and then fastening 
other strips across it in a diamond or lattice 
fashion. Attach this frame to the top of the 
window-casing by door-butts. Then push 
the lower part of it away from the window 
until you have it at the angle at which a cloth 
awning would hang when dropped, and sup- 
port it in that position by running strips of 
75 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

wood from each corner to the sides of the 
window-frame. 

If such vines as morning-glory, flowering 
bean, and cypress are trained up each side of 
the window until they reach these supports, 
it will be an easy matter to coax them up 
them and from them to the awning's frame- 
work, which they will soon cover with foliage 
and flowers. Such an awning will be found 
quite as satisfactory as one of cloth, so far as 
shade is concerned, and, as for beauty, there 
is no comparison between them, for the or- 
dinary awning of striped cloth is never 
ornamental. A floral awning is to the upper 
part of the window what the window-box of 
plants is to the lower portion of it, and the 
two can be used in combination with most 
delightful results. Indeed, they belong to- 
gether, and one without the other only half 
carries out the scheme of window decoration. 

Such awnings will be found as satisfactory 
for exposed doors as for windows. The boys 
of the family — or the women of it — can make 
them and put them in place, and the cost of 
them will be so small, compared with their 
ornamental and practical value, that one 
season's trial of them will make them per- 
manent features of home-beautifying there- 
after. I would advise planing the strips of 

76 



HOME AND GARDEN CONVENIENCES 

lath and giving the frames a coat of green or 
white paint before putting them in place. 
Green paint will make them unobtrusive, and 
white will give a pleasing color contrast. 
If they are taken down in fall and stored in a 
dry place over winter they will last for a good 
many seasons. 

As a general thing the front gate, if there is 
one, is not particularly ornamental. But it 
can easily be made so by setting posts ten or 
twelve feet tall at either side, and attaching to 
the top of them a double awning-frame simi- 
lar to that advised for windows. Let these 
frames meet at the top and slope outward and 
downward, roof fashion, and have supports 
running to each outer corner from the posts. 
When vines are trained up the posts and over 
the frames, and are allowed to droop in grace- 
ful festoons of foliage and flower from them, 
the effect will be charming. Here is where the 
wild cucumber — the most rapid climber of all 
our annuals — will be able to do most effective 
work. I would advise the use of hardy vines 
for positions of this kind, as they will be at- 
tractive from the beginning of the season, 
while an annual has to be given considerable 
time to grow before it becomes equal to the 
task assigned it. 

77 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

Garden-seats ought to be a feature of all 
home grounds large enough to admit of them. 
And these seats can be made as ornamental 
as the gateway just described by providing 
them with awnings large enough to afford 
complete shade. Of course, where there are 
trees to furnish shade such awnings will not 
be needed — and the logical place for a garden- 
seat is under a tree, if there is one — but on 
grounds where there are no trees to furnish 
shade, such protection from the heat of sum- 
mer sunshine as these awnings will afford be- 
comes more a necessity than a luxury. As it 
is, they are both ornamental and useful, and 
the ease and cheapness with which they are 
made commends them to all who believe in 
the value of " little things" in making home 
attractive and pleasant. 

Often it is desirable to furnish certain por- 
tions of the home grounds with screens large 
enough to shut off the public view. These 
should have frames of a size that guarantees 
strength. Lath put on in lattice fashion will 
make a good covering for them, but it will 
not be strong enough to insure durability in 
itself, hence the necessity of a more sub- 
stantial framework. It is always advisable 
to paint them before covering them with 
78 



HOME AND GARDEN CONVENIENCES 

vines. As screens of this kind are generally 
built with a view to permanence, I would 
advise covering them with hardy vines, like 
ampelopsis, Clematis flammula and C. panicu- 
lata, aristolochia, or trumpet honeysuckle. 

If low screens are wanted anywhere about 
the place, as a dividing factor between the 
flower and vegetable gardens, for instance, 
sweet-peas will make a charming covering 
for them. 

Large screens that are intended to separate 
the ornamental portions of the home grounds 
from the not generally attractive yards at 
the rear can be made extremely effective by 
training rambler roses over them. 

One of the most attractive features about 

the home of the author of this book is the 

fence which divides it from the property of 

his next-door neighbor. When the lawn was 

made, cedar posts were set along one side of 

it, and on these woven-wire netting was 

stretched. This netting was about four feet 

wide and of a rather heavy grade of wire. 

Small plants of ampelopsis were set out along 

it, about twenty feet apart. As fast as 

branches were thrown out they were trained 

out and in through the meshes of the netting. 
79 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

In one season the plants made enough growth 
to meet one another, and the second sea- 
son the netting was completely covered. 
The result has been extremely satisfactory. 
Throughout the summer this fence has the 
appearance of a closely clipped hedge of 
luxuriant green. In fall it is a mass of scarlet 
and crimson, quite as brilliant as the bed of 
geraniums near by. It is vastly more orna- 
mental than a fence of wood or iron, and 
makes an entirely satisfactory substitute for 
a hedge that it would take years to grow. In 
some respects it is more satisfactory than 
such a hedge would be, as it requires no an- 
nual shearing to keep it in proper shape and 
condition. 



XVIII 

GARDEN DON'TS 

DON'T let your springtime enthusiasm 
lead you to undertake more than you 
feel quite sure of being able to carry out. 
Keep in mind the fact that there will be work 
to do all through the season in order to make 
your garden a success, and think over what 
the result will be if you fail to give your plants 
all the care they need after you have got them 
well under way. Don't give them a chance 
to say that you haven't given them fair 
treatment because your enthusiasm waned 
with the season. 

Don't attempt to grow all the plants that 
the florists describe so attractively in their 
catalogues. Concentrate your efforts on the 
best ones — that is, the ones best adapted to 
amateur gardening. Give these the best pos- 
sible care. This advice applies with equal 
pertinence to all phases of gardening, out- 
doors or indoors. 

81 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

Don't pattern your garden after your 

neighbor's. Think out original features for 

the garden you propose to make, if you choose 

to do so, but don't aim to be so extremely 

original that the originality of it will attract 

more attention than the flowers in it. These 

should receive first consideration always. 
* * * 

Don't waste your time on "carpet-bed- 
ding" unless you make use of plants with 
colored foliage in carrying out your designs. 
Flowering plants are practically worthless for 
this purpose, as they have such a tendency to 
reach out beyond the limits assigned them 
that all distinctness in the outline of your 
pattern will soon be lost sight of. About all 
that seems worth while for the amateur gar- 
dener to do in the arrangement of her plant 
is to so use them that strong masses of color 
can be produced. If care is taken to choose 
those of harmonious colors, these can be so 
arranged as to heighten the general effect by 
contrast. 

Don't set out to have a garden or to grow 
house plants /unless you have the true gar- 
dening instinct. By that I mean a love 
for plants and flowers that would make you 
attempt to grow them under circumstances 
82 



GARDEN DONTS 

which your own judgment tells you make 
success impossible. The woman who tries 
to grow a geranium in a tin can in a window 
four or five stories up in the air because of her 
love for flowers would be almost sure to make 
a splendid success of a garden on the ground 
if she had one. But the woman who attempts 
to grow a plant because her neighbors do so, 
and who is honest enough to say to herself 
that "it's more bother than it's worth," will 
fail because she lacks the true incentive. 
Such persons ought not to undertake the 
cultivation of flowers. They cannot grow 
them with any degree of success, for flowers 
know who loves them, and will absolutely 
refuse to flourish under the care of those who 
do not want them for their own sweet sakes. 

Don't fill your windows to overflowing. 
Give each plant enough elbow-room to admit 
of its displaying its charms effectively. A 
crowded plant is never a symmetrical one, 
and one really symmetrical is worth a score 
of poorly shaped ones. The fact is, a window 
of ordinary size cannot satisfactorily accom- 
modate more than eight or ten plants of or- 
dinary size without crowding. There should 
be space enough between them to allow the 
sunshine to get to all portions of them. A 

83 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

free circulation of air among them is quite 

important. 

* * * 

Don't be a plant-beggar. By that I do not 
mean that you are not to "swap" plants 
with your neighbors if it is mutually agree- 
able to do so. When I speak of a "plant- 
beggar" I have in mind the person who de- 
pends upon her plant-growing friends for 
enough plants to keep her window well 
stocked, and her garden also. As soon as she 
discovers that you have a plant that she 
would like she does not hesitate to ask for a 
root or a cutting of it. She never stops to 
think that you are trying to grow the plant 
for your own pleasure. It doesn't matter to 
her how much it interferes with its satisfac- 
tory development in complying with her 
request. If she gets what she wants she is 
satisfied. The probabilities are that when 
her plant gets to be as large as yours was 
when she asked you to divide it with her 
she'll not hesitate to refuse the woman who 
suggests that she'd "like one just like it — 
won't you let me have a slip?" That there 
are persons quite as selfish as this cannot be 
denied. But they ought not to be encour- 
aged. Don't gratify them in their un- 
reasonable demands simply because you 

84 



GARDEN DON'TS 

are afraid of being considered " small" and 

" stingy." 

* * * 

Don't fail to have a corner in your garden 
devoted expressly to plants from which to cut 
for friends and the sick and shut-ins. Per- 
haps it is more a fancy of mine than anything 
else, but it has always seemed to me that 
plants grown for this purpose know what use 
they are to be put to and do their best in 
order to help carry out the plan of the person 
who grows them. If we who have all the 
flowers of our own that we care for could only 
know what a vast amount of pleasure we can 
give our less fortunate neighbors by dividing 
our supply with them, we would be more 

liberal than we are. 

* * * 

Don't keep fuchsias in the window in 
winter, for they are not winter-flowering 
plants, and the space they will occupy might 
better be given up to plants from which we 
can reasonably expect blossoms. They should 
go into the cellar in November, along with 
oleanders, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, and 
plants of similar habit, there to remain until 
March. Then they can be brought to the 
light, watered, and again started into growth. 
It is well to cut most plants that have been 

85 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

wintered in the cellar back at least half, and 
allow them to renew most of their branches. 
While in cold storage they should be given 
just enough water to prevent the soil from 
becoming really dry, and no more. Keep 
them in the dark, if possible, and in a cool 
place. Do not allow the temperature to go 

below the frost-point, however. 

* * * 

Don't think because you have only a little 
bit of ground that it isn't worth while to 
attempt having a garden. Some of the most 
delightful gardens I have ever seen were 
small ones. You will be surprised to find 
how many plants can be grown in a very 
small space. Utilize all the nooks and cor- 
ners about the place for plants. 

* * * 

Don't depend on home-grown seed if you 
want the best in flowers. The seedsman 
knows just what to do to secure the best re- 
sults in seed, and just how to do it. He also 
knows what not to do in raising seed for the 
market, and this the amateur gardener really 
knows nothing about. While we often grow 
fine flowers from seed of our saving, the fact 
remains that home-grown seed seldom gives 
entire satisfaction to the person who wants 
the best. 

86 



GARDEN DON'TS 

Don't invest your money in new plants 
until you are satisfied that they have all the 
merit claimed for them. As a general thing, 
the " novelties" sent out every spring at a 
high price are greatly inferior to the good old 
stand-bys. We seldom hear anything about 
them after the second season. Put your 
money into plants that you know can be 

depended on. 

* * * 

Don't attempt the culture of hanging- 
plants unless you are willing to give them the 
care they must have in order to be satisfac- 
tory. Plants suspended in the window, where 
the temperature is considerably higher than 
at the sill, speedily dry out, and after this has 
happened a few times they become diseased 
and finally die. It will be necessary to apply 
water daily and in sufficient quantity to 
saturate all the soil in the pot or basket. 
Because it requires special effort on the part 
of the owner to get to suspended plants, they 
are generally neglected. It is a most excel- 
lent plan to have them arranged in such a 
manner that they can be let down into a tub 
of water and left there until the soil has 
absorbed all the water it can retain. This 
can be done by cords running over pulleys in 
the ceiling. Try it. Hanging-plants are al- 
7 87 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

ways pleasing when healthily grown, and the 
window-garden that is without them is not 

living up to its privileges. 

* * * 

Don't "fuss" with your plants too much. 
See that they get all the water they need, as 
much sunshine as possible, plenty of fresh 
air, an occasional application of some good 
fertilizer, and shower them frequently to 
keep them clean, and be satisfied with this 
treatment. They object to being treated as 
some mothers treat their children, who 
would be much better off if they were let 
alone after actual wants were provided for. 

Don't coddle your plants. 

* * * 

Don't start dahlias into growth in the 
house early in the season, thinking that you 
are going to "get the start of the season" by 
so doing. We used to think that, because the 
dahlia came from a country where the sum- 
mer was long, we must get it to growing 
in March or April, and we set the tubers out 
in pots and boxes and forced them to make a 
rapid and weak growth so early in the season 
that long before it was safe to put them out 
in the garden they were poor, spindling things, 
with just enough vitality in them to make it 
possible to say that they were alive. When 

88 



GARDEN DON'TS 

they were planted out the change from indoors 
to outdoors had such a debilitating effect 
on them that for weeks they were undecided 
whether to live or die. If they lived we con- 
sidered ourselves fortunate if we got a dozen 
flowers from each plant. Nowadays we un- 
derstand the plant better. We don't attempt 
to start it in the house. We wait until the 
weather and the ground are warm and then we 
plant the tubers in the garden where they are 
to grow and bloom. We make the soil very 
rich. The plants begin to grow shortly after 
being planted, and in late August they come 
into bloom, and all through September they 
yield such a profusion of flowers as we never 
thought of getting from the plants when 
grown after the old method. The dahlia is 
one of our very best late-summer flowering 
plants when well grown. It must have a rich 
soil — it must not be allowed to get dry at the 
roots at any time — and it must be given sub- 
stantial support, as its stalks are extremely 
brittle and easily broken down by hard winds 
and heavy rains. Dahlias are very effective 
when planted in the border among shrubs and 
perennials. There are few plants with a 
wider range of rich and brilliant color. By 
all means give them a place in your gar- 
den. 

89 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

Don't sow hollyhock seed in the spring 
expecting to get flowers from your plants the 
same season. They will not bloom the first 

year from seed. 

* * * 

Don't allow your pansies to bloom — or try 
to bloom — during the hot, dry, midsummer 
season. They may produce some flowers, but 
they will be so inferior in quality that you will 
get no pleasure from them. I would advise 
cutting away all the old branches the latter 
part of July and encouraging the plants to 
renew themselves preparatory to fall flower- 
ing. If this is done, and strong, healthy 
growth results from the liberal application of 
a good fertilizer during August, you may ex- 
pect a generous crop of large, fine flowers all 
through the autumn. If it is not done, and 
the plants are allowed to keep on trying to 
grow through the trying period of late sum- 
mer, you will get few flowers and no really 
good ones. 

Don't allow any plant to develop seed if 
you want it to keep on blooming after its 
first flowering period. The aim of all plants 
is to reproduce themselves, and this can only 
be done by seed development. If we interfere 
with the ordinary process of seed production 

90 



GARDEN DON'TS 

by cutting away all flowers as soon as they 
begin to fade, the plants will at once make an- 
other effort to perpetuate their kind, and, as 
the first step in this direction is the produc- 
tion of flowers, it will be readily seen that it is 
possible to make many of them bloom all 

through the season. 

* * * 

Don't expect good flowers of any kind 
unless you are willing to give them the care 
and attention they require. If you are not 
willing to do this, or if, for any reason, you 
cannot do it, don't attempt gardening. Have 
enough regard for the flowers to not under- 
take their culture unless you can do them 
justice. 

H< * * 

Don't throw away plants of any kind. 
Somebody will always be glad to get those 
you have no use for. 

Don't neglect a plant to-day and think you 
can make up for that neglect by being very 
good to it to-morrow. Plants must receive 
care when it is needed, and this care should be 
given regularly, instead of spasmodically, to 
be effective. 



Don't begin to water your plants in your 

91 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

garden in a dry season unless you can keep 
on doing so as long as the dry spell lasts. 

Don't fail to keep close watch of your 
asters. Of late years many failures have re- 
sulted from the attack of a black beetle, 
which comes from no one knows where — 
comes so suddenly and does such deadly work 
in so short a time that the plants are often 
ruined before the presence of the pest is sus- 
pected. There is but one way of getting rid 
of this pest, and that is to make use of 
nicoticide, the standard remedy for all plant 
troubles of this kind. A small quantity of 
this extract of tobacco, diluted with water 
and sprayed over all portions of each plant, 
will effectually rout the enemy if applied 
promptly and thoroughly. Unless something 
is done as soon as the beetle is discovered, it 
will destroy every plant. Be on the lookout 
for it constantly, acting on the supposition 
that it will be sure to put in an appearance 
some time during the summer. Get ready 
in advance for prompt action against it by 
laying in a supply of the insecticide at the 

beginning of the summer. 

* * * 

Don't think that your house plants need 
repotting two or three times a year if they are 

92 



GARDEN DON'TS 

growing in good-sized pots. Once a year is 
quite often enough if you apply fertilizers at 
intervals of four or five months. Plants in 
small pots may outgrow their quarters, and 
these should be shifted to those of larger size 
when they have filled the old ones with roots. 

* * * 

Don't make the mistake of putting small 
plants in large pots, thinking that they will be 
benefited by it. Wait for them to signify 
a desire for more room by filling all the soil of 
a small pot with roots. A plant with a small, 
weak root-system is often seriously injured 
by giving it a large pot to grow in, as it is not 
in a condition to make use of all the nutriment 
in a large amount of soil. A plant treated in 
this manner will often develop a sort of 
vegetable dyspepsia as a result of giving it 
more food than it can digest properly. 

* * * 

Don't be in too great a hurry to obtain 
results. Some persons think to accomplish 
this by frequent applications of strong fer- 
tilizers in large quantities. This will force 
plants to a rapid and always unhealthy 
growth, from which, later on, there is sure to 
be a most discouraging reaction. Be content 
with a healthy growth, and give your plants a 
chance to make that naturally. More plants 

93 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

are injured by overfeeding than from any 

other cause. 

* * * 

Don't think that you can learn all there is 
to know about gardening from books. Books 
will furnish the theory. You must contri- 
bute experience in order to attain success. 

* * * 

Don't neglect your plants while they are 
growing. Then is just the time to give them 
the training that is necessary to make them 
shapely. The fact is, plants are very much 
like children in the family. Let them have 
their own way about everything while they 
are growing up and you will find that when 
they have grown up they are not at all like 
what you would like to have them, in many 
respects, and you don't see how you are going 
to make them conform to your ideas of what 
they ought to be, since it is impossible to 
make children of them again and give you 
another chance at their development. Begin 
with the training of your plants while they 

are small, and train them as they grow. 

* * * 

Don't treat all your plants alike. Study 
their peculiarities and give them such treat- 
ment as will fit those peculiarities. To illus- 
trate this idea: a calla likes a good deal of 

94 



GARDEN DON'TS 

water; a geranium is satisfied with a moder- 
ately moist soil; a cactus does best when 
allowed to get really dry at certain seasons. 
If we were to treat these three plants alike, 
what do you suppose the result would be? 
Don't ignore the peculiarities of your plants 

if you want them to do well. 

* * * 

Don't neglect to prepare for an annual in- 
vasion of your roses by bugs, worms, and 
insects. You can safely count on their com- 
ing, but if you are prepared for it you can 
speedily put the enemy to rout. The best 
plan is to act on the offensive. Head off the 
pests by making applications of nicoticide 
before they make their appearance. You 
can do this, for, if their advance-agent ar- 
rives and finds the tang of tobacco all over 
the plants, he will go back and advise the 
others to seek more agreeable quarters. Be- 
gin to spray your bushes early in the season, 
and keep on doing so until after the flowering 
period is over. There will be no likelihood of 
an invasion after that, as the enemies of the 

rose do their deadly work early in the season. 

* * * 

Don't get the idea for a moment, as so 
many do, that all you need to do to have a 
fine lot of plants is to put some soil — any 

95 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

kind that happens to be handiest — in a pot, 
set out a plant in it, and, presto ! you will have 
just as fine a lot of plants as your neighbor 
who searches here and there and everywhere 
until she finds just the kind of soil that ex- 
perience tells her the plants must have if she 
would have good ones. She gives some of her 
time daily to caring for them, while you ex- 
pect your plants to take care of themselves. 
That will never answer. If you do your share 
of the work the plants will do theirs, but you 
must not expect them to do all, any more than 
you must expect them to make a strong, 
healthy growth in a soil that is unsuited to 
their requirements or sadly lacking in nutri- 
ment. 

Don't build up a great fire in stove or fur- 
nace if you discover that your plants have 
been nipped by frost, thinking to save them 
by " thawing them out." Heat at such a 
time is the very thing needed to complete 
the misfortune. Put them at once in a room 
where the temperature can be kept just a lit- 
tle above the frost-point, and shower them 
thoroughly with cold water. This will ex- 
tract the frost from them so gradually that 
it will be possible to save many of them 
unless they are badly frozen. Keep them 

96 



GARDEN DON'TS 

in a cool room for three or four days. It 

may be necessary to cut away most, or all, of 

the branches of some of them. Unless the 

degree of cold to which they were subjected 

was sufficient to freeze the soil in the pot, 

many of them will throw up new shoots from 

their roots after a little; therefore don't throw 

out a plant that has been obliged to part 

with all its top until it has been given a 

chance to make a new start in life. 
* * * 

Don't put your house plants out of doors 
for the summer until the weather has become 
warm and can be depended on to remain so. 
The first of June will be quite early enough. 

* H= * 

Don't plant them out in the garden-beds, 
thinking thereby to save yourself the work 
of taking care of them during the summer 
and of benefiting them at the same time. 
Of course they will take care of themselves 
there, and very likely make a much more 
luxuriant growth than they would in pots, but 
when fall comes and you have to lift and repot 
them you will find that more hard work is 
required of you than you would have expend- 
ed on them throughout the summer if you 
had kept them in pots. As for the benefit to 

the plants — where will it come in? They will 
97 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

have made such a rampant growth of roots 
that most of them will have to be sacrificed 
in reducing the earth containing them to the 
size of the pots you put them into, and this at 
the very time when the poor plants ought to 
be at their best in order to successfully with- 
stand the unfavorable conditions resulting 
from the change from outdoors to indoors. 
Plants treated in this manner receive a check 
that they seldom fully recover from during 
the entire winter. Instead of saving yourself 
work and doing a kindness to your plants, 
you have done just the contrary. 



XIX 

A CHAPTER OF HELPFUL HINTS 

IN some of the foregoing chapters I have 
had something to say 'about the advisa- 
bility of using seed in which each color is 
kept by itself in order to secure the greatest 
possible degree of color-harmony in the gar- 
den. 

Many persons tell us that they cannot 
afford to pay the extra prices which the 
seedsmen put on unmixed seed. It is true 
that it costs more than the seed in which all 
colors are jumbled together, and it is also 
true that plants grown from it are really no 
better than those grown from mixed seed, but 
the fact remains that it gives so much more 
satisfactory results, from an artistic stand- 
point, that it is not throwing money away, as 
some claim, to make use of it. Of course if 
one gets as much pleasure from a mass of 
color without regard to harmony as from fewer 
colors all in perfect harmony with one another, 

99 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

it would hardly be worth while to invest more 
money in such seed. But where the finest 
possible effects are desired I contend that 
unmixed seed is cheapest, in that sense of the 
term that means the greatest satisfaction. 

There is a way by which unmixed seed can 
be obtained without its really costing each 
person more than mixed seed. Every ama- 
teur gardener knows that more plants of a 
kind can be grown from one package of seed 
than a person cares for in the average-sized 
garden. Nine times out of ten only part of 
the seed in the package is sown and the rest 
is either discarded or given away to friends. 
Now if those who would like to secure the 
best results in gardening will get up a seed 
club among their flower-loving friends, and 
confine their selection to packages in which 
each color is by itself, the seed in those 
packages can be divided among the various 
members of the club, and each person will 
have enough to meet her requirements, and 
this at a less price than she would have to pay 
for ordinary mixed seed if she were to order 
alone, because none of the seed would be 
wasted. 

Try the seed-club plan for a season and see 

if it doesn't work out to your satisfaction. 

If you are likely to have more plants of a 
100 



A CHAPTER OF HELPFUL HINTS 

kind than you care for, don't throw any of the 
seedlings away when you thin them out. 
There are poor children in every neighbor- 
hood that would be delighted to get them. 
Never waste any plants that are worth 
growing. 

If a plant is wanted for low beds under the 
windows of the dwelling or near the paths, 
portulacca is about as satisfactory as anything 
I know of. It blooms with great profusion 
throughout the entire season. Its colors 
range from pure white through pink, yellow, 
and violet to dark crimson. It is a plant 
that seems to delight in locations exposed to 
the hottest sunshine, and in soils so lacking 
in moisture that ordinary plants would live 
but a short time in it. It is enabled to do this 
because of the succulent nature of its foliage. 
Indeed, the portulacca is a vegetable sala- 
mander so far as its ability to stand heat and 
drought is concerned. Those who have had 
experience with purslane in the vegetable 
garden will understand something about the 
nature of this plant, for the two are closely 
related. 

In furnishing support for vines that clam- 
ber over the walls of the house, do not use 
strips of cloth, as so many do. The cloth is 

good for a season only. After the vines have 
101 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

become large and heavy their weight will be 
sufficient to tear the cloth loose from the 
tacks that held it in place, especially after a 
heavy rain or in strong winds, and down will 
come the plant. It will be found impossible 
to put it back in place in anything like a 
satisfactory manner. For supporting large, 
stiff vines I make use of screw-hooks, which 
are easily inserted in wooden walls. Turn 
the hooks in until there is just enough room 
between their points and the wall to admit of 
slipping the vine in. Not one vine in fifty 
will work loose from the grip of the hooks. 

Some vines are not adapted to this treat- 
ment. These I support by using strips of 
leather instead of cloth. The leather should 
be soaked in oil for twenty-four hours before 
using, to make it pliable and water-resisting. 
Do not use small tacks, as these do not have 
sufficient hold on the wood to make them 
dependable. Use nails at least an inch long, 
with good-sized heads. 

Some persons object to the use of vines 
about the house, especially if it is of wood, 
claiming that they retain moisture to such 
an extent as to soon injure the walls. I have 
convinced myself that facts are directly con- 
trary to this theory. The overlapping leaves 

act as shingles — shedding rain and preventing 
102 



A CHAPTER OF HELPFUL HINTS 

it from getting to the walls against which the 
vines are trained. 

Try to interest the children in the making 
of a fern-garden and a collection of native 
plants. A little encouragement at the be- 
ginning will do this, and after the project is 
well under way it will not need encouraging, 
for the little folks will be so fascinated by it 
that there will be little likelihood of their 
abandoning the undertaking. Take half a 
dozen or more children to the woods with 
you, with baskets in which to bring home 
their specimens. Show them how to take up 
the plants in such a manner that a consider- 
able amount of soil will adhere to their roots. 
Help them pack them snugly into the baskets 
to prevent their being shaken about in tran- 
sit, thereby losing the soil taken up with 
them. If the day happens to be a warm and 
sunny one, have them sprinkle the plants and 
pack some wet moss about them to keep them 
as fresh as possible until they can be planted 
in the home garden. Discourage them from 
taking large plants in preference to small 
ones, as they will most likely be eager to do. 
Explain that the small ones stand the best 
chance of living, and that nothing is gained 
by choosing large ones, because these will be 
sure to lose their foliage, and that, even if 

8 103 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

they live, which nine out of ten will not, they 
will receive such a check by removal that the 
small plants will soon get the start of them. 

It will greatly add to the pleasure of plant- 
collecting if you make a kind of picnic excur- 
sion of it. Take along something good to 
eat, and spend half a day in the woods, if 
possible. You will enjoy it as much as the 
children will. Don't dig your plants, how- 
ever, until you are about ready to start for 
home, for it is quite important that they 
should be planted as soon as possible after 
being taken up. When they are set out, 
water them well and shade them for several 
days. 

Give all plants taken from shady places a 
location as nearly like that from which they 
were taken as possible. A fern that grew 
in shade will be pretty sure to die if planted 
in a place fully exposed to the sun. 

It helps matters very much if you can have 
a load of woods earth drawn to the home 
garden to plant these children of the forest in. 
They do not take kindly to loam, after having 
been grown in loose, porous soil, though many 
of them are strong enough to adapt them- 
selves to ordinary garden conditions. 

I know of many neighborhoods in which 
clubs for collecting native plants have been 

104 



A CHAPTER OF HELPFUL HINTS 

formed, and the children who are in these 
clubs have become intensely interested in 
their gardens of native plants. This is as it 
should be, for we have many beautiful wild 
flowers that are better worth growing than 
foreign kinds for which large prices are asked. 
Pride in our home plants ought to be en- 
couraged, and there is no better way of doing 
this than by interesting the boys and girls in 
the making of a wild garden. 

The tuberose is a plant which everybody 
admires, but which is seldom seen in amateur 
gardeners' collections. I think the general 
impression is that it is not an easy plant to 
grow. Such is not the case, however. It 
can be grown successfully by any one who is 
willing to give it a little attention. Tubers 
should be obtained in March or April. They 
should be planted in pots containing sandy 
garden loam into which a liberal amount of 
good fertilizer has been thoroughly worked. 
If the tubers are small, two or three can be 
put into each seven-inch pot used. Before 
planting them the mass of dried roots which 
will generally be found adhering to the base of 
the tuber should be cut away with a thin, 
sharp -bladed knife. If this is not done, 
these roots often decay and the diseased 
condition will be communicated to the tuber 

105 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

and cause it to die, or, if death does not re- 
sult, to become so unhealthy that it will fail 
to bloom. 

The plants can be turned out of their pots 
when the weather becomes warm, and grown 
on in the garden through the summer, but 
I would not advise this, for it will be necessary 
to lift and pot them before frosty nights come, 
as they are very tender, and a little disturb- 
ance of their roots at this time may cause 
their buds to blast. I would urge keeping 
them in pots throughout the season, as, if this 
is done, you always have them under control. 
The flowers of the tuberose are ivory-white 
in color. They are of thick, waxen texture, 
and have that heavy, rich fragrance that 
characterizes the magnolia and the cape jas- 
mine of the South. They are borne in a 
spike at the extremity of tall stalks, thus be- 
ing very effective for cutting. Because of 
their thick texture they last for a long time 
after cutting. Plants in pots remain in 
bloom for a month or six weeks. Every 
lover of deliciously fragrant flowers will do 
well to grow at least half a dozen of them 
to do duty in the window-garden in fall. 

A second crop of flowers need not be ex- 
pected from a tuber that has borne one crop. 
In order to make sure of bloom it will be 

106 



A CHAPTER OF HELPFUL HINTS 

necessary to purchase fresh tubers each 
spring. 

The abutilon is an old favorite among 
house plants, and its popularity is well de- 
served. It is of as easy culture as a geranium. 
Give it a good soil — preferably loam — drain 
its pot well, keep the soil evenly moist but 
never wet, and that is about all the care it will 
require. It may be necessary to prune it 
now and then during its early stages of growth 
in order to secure symmetrical shape, but 
this is easily done by pinching off the ends of 
such branches as seem inclined to get the 
start of others, and keeping them from mak- 
ing more growth until the others have caught 
up with them. Pinching back branches that 
do not develop side shoots will generally re- 
sult in their branching freely. In this way 
you secure a bushy, compact plant. In order 
to make a little tree of the abutilon — and it 
is most satisfactory when grown in that man- 
ner — train it to one straight stalk until it 
reaches the height where you want the head 
to form. Allow no side branches to grow 
during this period of the plant's develop- 
ment. When three or four feet tall, nip off 
the top and keep it nipped off until as many 
branches as you think necessary have started 
at the top of the stalk. Allow none to grow 

107 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

below. By persevering in this treatment you 
will succeed in getting a number of branches 
with which to form a treelike head. 

There are several varieties of abutilon. 
Some have orange flowers, some red, some 
yellow, some pink, and some pure white. 
These flowers are bell-shaped and pendent. 
One name for the plant is the Chinese bell- 
flower because of its bell-like blossoms. 
Another is flowering maple, because of the 
resemblance in shape of its foliage to our 
native maple. There are two or three vari- 
eties with beautifully variegated foliage in 
which green and white and yellow are about 
equally distributed. I am always glad to 
speak a good word for this plant because of 
its beauty, its ease of culture, its constancy 
of bloom, and the fact that it is seldom at- 
tacked by insects. 

Another most deserving old plant is the 
rose geranium. This used to be found in 
nearly all collections of house plants. It is 
as easily grown as the flowering geranium. 
Its foliage is very pleasing, being as finely cut 
as some varieties of fern. It is delightfully 
fragrant. A leaf or two will be found a most 
desirable addition to a buttonhole or corsage 
bouquet. It can be grown in tree form by 
giving it the pinching-back treatment ad- 

108 



A CHAPTER OF HELPFUL HINTS 

vised for the abutilon, or it can be grown as 
a bush by beginning the pinching process 
when it is only three or four inches high, thus 
obliging it to throw out several stalks near 
the base of the plant. 

Old plants of oleander may easily be re- 
newed when they have become so large as to 
be unwieldy, or have outgrown the space that 
can be given up to them. Cut away all the 
branches to within four or five inches of the 
main stalk, leaving nothing but a mass of 
stubs. In a very short time new branches 
will be sent out. There will be so many of 
them that it will be necessary to remove 
the larger share of them. If this pruning is 
done in early spring, when the plant is 
brought from cold storage, the new growth 
ought to bear a crop of flowers in late sum- 
mer. The following season the plant should 
be literally covered with bloom during the 
greater part of summer, these blossoms being 
as large and fine in all respects as those borne 
by the plant when young. I know of no 
plant that is more tractable than this one, 
and certainly we have few that are more 
beautiful. Large specimens are magnificent 
for porch and veranda decoration in summer. 
In December they should go into the cellar, to 
remain there until March. 

109 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

Plants with variegated foliage are becom- 
ing more in demand yearly. Japanese maize, 
with long leaves striped with white and 
cream, is very effective when grown in a mass 
in the center of a bed. The Japanese hop, 
with foliage heavily marbled with creamy 
white, is quite as attractive without flowers as 
many of our flowering vines are. Ricinus, 
with enormous foliage of a lustrous coppery 
bronze, will be found far more " tropical" in 
effect then the cannas and caladiums we see 
so much of nowadays. The leaves of this 
plant often measure a yard across. If you 
want it to be most effective, plant it in some 
exposed place where it will have plenty of 
room to spread its branches. 

From what I have said in a preceding 
chapter it will be readily understood that I 
am not an admirer of "carpet -bedding" 
except where plants with small, richly col- 
ored foliage are made use of. These can be 
pruned in such a manner as to keep each 
color inside its proper limit, but flower- 
ing plants will straggle across the lines as- 
signed them, and all clearness of outline in 
the "pattern" will soon be lost. But when 
plants. are located with a view to securing 
color contrast, very fine effects can be ob- 
tained from them. A circular bed filled with 
no 



A CHAPTER OF HELPFUL HINTS 

pink, white, and pale -yellow phlox drum- 
mondii in rows of each color will be found 
pleasing, and it has the merit of being easily 
made. 

If a round bed has scarlet salvia for its 
center, surrounded with yellow calliopsis, or 
California poppy, it will afford a mass of 
most intense color that will produce a most 
brilliant effect. A bed of pink flowering 
geraniums — pink, mind you, not scarlet or 
any shade of red — bordered with lavender 
ageratum, will be found extremely attractive 
if care is taken to cut away all trusses of 
bloom from the geraniums as soon as they 
have begun to fade. If this is not done 
the bed will have a draggled, slovenly 
effect. 

Scarlet salvia combined with euphorbia, 
better known as "snow-on-the-mountain," 
will be found very effective, the white and 
green of the euphorbia bringing out the scarlet 
of the salvia most vividly, and affording such 
a strong contrast that a bed of these two 
plants will always challenge admiration. 

The euphorbia will be found a very use- 
ful plant for almost any place in beds or 
borders where something seems needed to 
relieve the prevailing color. It deserves 

more attention than it gets, 
in 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

The impression seems to prevail that many 
plants ought to retain their old leaves in- 
definitely. They will not do this, however. 
Leaves ripen after a time, and the plant will 
shed them, as all deciduous plants shed theirs 
in fall. Therefore if you find the lower 
leaves on your ficus turning, yellow and 
dropping, don't be frightened. The plant is 
simply going through one of the processes 
of nature. 

But if a good many of the leaves fall all at 
once it will be well to look for some other 
explanation of the plant's action. The loss 
of foliage may come from lack of moisture in 
the soil, or the roots of the plant may be 
pot-bound. Examination will show if either 
is the case. If the soil is found to be dry, 
more water should be given. If the pot is 
filled with roots, repot the plant, giving it 
more root room. The owners of plants 
should take all these things into considera- 
tion before coming to any conclusion as to 
what the cause of trouble is. Unless they do 
so there will have to be " guesswork" relative 
to it, and that is never safe or satisfactory. 
Trouble may come from overwatering, or 
from lack of good drainage, or a soil deficient 
in nutrition. You see, it is necessary to study 

these matters from several angles, so to speak, 
112 



A CHAPTER OF HELPFUL HINTS 

as the trouble complained of may have its 
origin in any one of the conditions men- 
tioned, and not much can be done to remedy 
matters until one has made an examination 
that brings to light the facts in the case. 
These known, it will be a comparatively easy 
matter to determine the treatment required, 
for the conditions that are found to exist will, 
to a great extent, indicate in almost every 
instance the remedy needed. 

Some good vines for window-box culture 
are: 

Madeira vine. — Heart-shaped foliage of a 
rich, glossy green. Very rapid grower. 

Tradescantia. — Green, green striped with 
white, and olive striped with Indian red. 
Quick grower. 

Vinca Harrisonii. — Dark - green foliage, 
edged with yellow. 

Senecio. — More commonly known as Ger- 
man ivy. Pretty, ivy-shaped foliage of a 
clear, bright green. Very rapid grower. 
Needs frequent pinching back to make it 
branch freely. 

Glechoma. — Green, variegated with bright 
yellow. 

Othonna. — Better known as "pickle-plant" 
because of its cylindrical foliage, which re* 

113 



A-B-C OF GARDENING 

sembles a miniature cucumber. Has pretty 
yellow flowers. 

Saxifraga. — Leaves of graying olive sprin- 
kled with white. 

Ivy-leaved geraniums. — There are many 
varieties, some with pink, some with white, 
and others with red flowers. These are ex- 
cellent where flowering plants of drooping 
habit are desired. A box edged with these 
plants, especially the pink variety, with 
white Marguerites — better known as Paris 
daisies — in the center, will be found especially 
pleasing. 

In window-boxes having a northern ex- 
posure such plants as Boston and Whitman 
fern, asparagus plumosus, asparagus Spren- 
gerii, and any of the fibrous-rooted begonias 
will be found very effective. These plants 
can be turned out of their pots and planted 
in the earth in the box, or the pots in which 
they grow can be sunk in the soil. This is 
in several respects the best way, as in fall, 
when the window -box has to be discon- 
tinued, the plants will not have to be re- 
potted. 

Petunias are excellent plants for window- 
dox culture. They can be made to grow in 
upright form by giving them a little support, 
or they can be allowed to droop over the sides 

114 



A CHAPTER OF HELPFUL HINTS 

of the box. A combination of purple and 
white varieties will be found pleasing. This 
plant comes into bloom early in the season, 
when grown from seed, and it continues to 
bloom until cold weather comes. 



TELE END 



